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THE  BYZANTINE   EMPIRE 


(N'-IEKIOK'  01>    si:     .V)I'UI^. 


THE  STOkY  OF  THE  NATIONS 


THE 

Byzantine  Empire 


BY 

C.  W.  C.  OMAN,  M.A.,  F.S.A. 

FELLOW   OF   ALL   SOULS   COLLEGE,   OXFORD  ;    AUTHOR   OF   "  WARWICK  THE 
KINGMAKER,"    "  THE   ART   OF   WAR   IN   THE    MIDDLE   AGES,"    BTC. 


NEW  YORK 

G.  P.  putnam;s  sons.  , 

LONDON:  T.  FisiiEK  UNWIN^ 


RESERVE   DUPL. 

Copyright,  1892 
By  G.  p.  Putnam's  Sons 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall 

By  T.  Fisher  Unwin 


PREFACE. 


Fifty  years  ago  the  word  "  Byzantine  "  was  used 
as  a  synonym  for  all  that  was  corrupt  and  decadent, 
and  the  tale  of  the  East-Roman  Empire  was  dis- 
missed by  modern  historians  as  depressing  and 
monotonous.  The  great  Gibbon  had  branded  the 
successors  of  Justinian  and  Heraclius  as  a  series  of 
vicious  weaklings,  and  for  several  generations  no  one 
dared  to  contradict  him. 

Two  books  have  served  to  undeceive  the  English 
reader,  the  monumental  work  of  Finlay,  published  in 
1856,  and  the  more  modern  volumes  of  Mr.  Bury, 
which  appeared  in  1889.  Since  they  have  written, 
the  Byzantines  no  longer  need  an  apologist,  and  the 
great  work  of  the  East-Roman  Empire  in  holding 
back  the  Saracen,  and  in  keeping  alive  throughout 
the  Dark  Ages  the  lamp  of  learning,  is  beginning  to 
be  realized. 

The  writer  of  this  book  has  endeavoured  to  tell 
the  story  of  Byzantium  in  the  spirit  of  Finlay  and 
Bury,  not  in  that  of  Gibbon.  He  wishes  to  acknow- 
ledge his  debts    both  to  the  veteran   of  the  war  of 


mmmi 


VI  PREFACE. 

Greek  Independence,  and  to  the  young  Dublin  pro- 
fessor. Without  their  aid  his  task  would  have  been 
very  heavy — with  it  the  difficulty  was  removed. 

The  author  does  not  claim  to  have  grappled  with 
all  the  chroniclers  of  the  Eastern  realm,  but  thinks 
that  some  acquaintance  with  Ammianus,  Procopius, 
Maurice's  "  Strategikon,"  Leo  the  Deacon,  Leo  the 
Wise,  Constantine  Porphyrogenitus,  Anna  Comnena 
and  Nicetas,  may  justify  his  having  undertaken  the 
task  he  has  essayed. 

Oxford, 

February^  1892. 


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COXTENTS. 


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■VtLL) 


Byzantium 


PAG« 
I-I2 


Foundation  of  Byzantium,  3— Early  history  of  the  city,  5— 
Byzantine  luxury,  7 — Byzantium  destroyed  A.D..  196,  9^ 
Taken  by  Maximinus,  11. 

II. 

The   Foundation   of   Constantinople   (a.d.    328- 

330) -.         13-30 

Constantine  the  Great,  15 — Constantine's  Choice,  17 — The 
Topography  of  Constantinople,  19 — The  Senate  House,  21 — 
The  Hippodrome,  25 — St.  Sophia,  27V-Constantine's  Dedi- 
cation Festival,  2g.  \ 

III. 


The  Fight  with  the  Goths 

The  Goths  and  the  Huns,  35 — Valens  and  the  Goths   37- 
Outbreak  of  War, 39 — Battle  of  Adrianople,  41. 


.31-44 


rv. 

The  Departure  of  the  Germans 


45-53 


Stilicho,  47 — Alaric  the  Goth,  49— Gainas  slain,  51— Exile  of 
Chrysostom,  53. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

The    Reorganization    of    the    Eastern    Empire 

(A.D.  408-518)  54-64    * 

Youth  of  Theodosius  II.,  55— Exile  of  Eudocia,  57— Reign  of 
Marcianus,  59 — Zeno  reorganizes  the  Army,  61 — Rebellion  of 
Theodoric  and  his  Departure  for  Italy,  63. 

VI. 

Justinian         .......        65-80 

Theodora,  67 — Justinian's  personal  character,  69— Justinian's 
Army,  71 — ^Justinian's  foreign  policy,  73 — The  Blues  and 
Greens,  75 — The  Nika  Riot,  77 — Theodora's  speech,  79. 

VII. 

Justinian's  Foreign  Conquests     .        .        .        81-97 

Weakness  of  the  Goths  in  Italy,  83 — Conquest  of  Africa,  85 — 
Theodahat's   augury,    87 — The   Goths   besiege    Rome,    89 — 
Belisarius   takes    Ravenna,    91 — Baduila   reconquers    Italy, 
93 — Death  of  King  Baduila,  95 — Justinian's  Spanish  Con- 
quests, 97. 

VIII. 

The  End  OF  Jus liNiAN's  Reign     .         .         .       98-113 

Fall  of  Antioch,  99 — The  Great  Plague,  loi — Justinian  as 
Theologian,  103 — Belisarius  defeats  the  Huns,  105 — Building 
of  St.  Sophia,  107 — Procopiuson  St.  Sophia,  109 — Justinian's 
Forts,  III — His  Legislation,  113. 

r 

IX. 

The  Coming  of  the  Slavs  ...        .     1 14-127 

The  Lombards,  115 — Lombard  Conquests  in  Italy,  117 — Rise 
of  the  Papacy,  1 19 — Persian  Wars,  121 — The  Slavs,  123 — 
Their  Invasion  of  Moesia,  125 — Fall  of  Maurice,  127. 


CONTENTS.  XI 


PAGE 


The  Darkest  Hour       .        .        •        .        .128-140 

Misfortunes  of  Phocas,  129 — Accession  of  Heraclius,  131 — 
The  Letter  of  Chosroes,  133 — Victories  of  Heraclius,  135 — 
First  Siege  of  Constantinople,  137 — Triumph  of  Heraclius,  139. 


XL 

Social  and  Religious  Life  (a.d.  320-620)         141-157 

Decay  of  the  Latin  tongue,  143 — Christianity  and  the  State, 
145 — Christianity  and  Slavery,  147 — Evils  of  Monasticism, 
149— Superstitions,  151 — Weaknesses  of  Byzantine  Society, 
153 — Estimate  of  Byzantine  Society,  155-57. 

XII. 

The  Coming  of  the  Saracens       .        .        .     158-172 

Rise  of  Mahomet,  159 — Arab  Invasion  of  Syria,  161 — Jerusa- 
\  lem  taken,  163 — The  Sons  of  Heraclius,   165 — The  Themes 

created,  167 — Wars  of  Constans  II.,  169 — Reign  of  Con- 
stantine  IV.,  171. 

xin. 

The  First  Anarchy 173-183 

Justinian  IL,  176 — Usurpation  and  P'all  of  Leontius,  177 — 
Restoration  of  Justinian  II.,  179— Anarchy,  711-17  A.D., 
181 — Accession  of  Leo  the  Isaurian,  183. 

XIV. 

The  Saracens  Turned  Back        .        .        .     184-188 

Constantinople  beleagured.    185 — The    Siege   raised,    187, 


xii  CONTENTS. 

XV. 

PAGfi 

The  Iconoclasts  (a.d.  720-802)     .        .        .    189-201 

Superstitious  Vanities,  191 — Leo's  Crusade  against  Images, 
193 — Constantine  V.  dissolves  the  Monasteries,  197 — Irene 
blinds  her  son,  199 — Coronation  of  Charles  the  Great,  201. 

XVI. 

The  End  of  the  Iconoclasts  (a.d.  802-886)    202-214 

Reign  of  Nicephorus  I.,  203 — Reign  of  Leo  V.,  205 — Michael 
the  Amorian,  207 — Persecution  by  Theophilus,  209 — The 
choice  of  Theophilus,  211 — Michael  the  Drunkard,  213. 

XVII. 

The   Literary  Emperors  and   their  Time   (a.d. 
886-963)  215-225 

Reigns  of  I^eo  VI.  and  Constantine  VII.,  217 — Leo's  Tactica, 
219 — Art  and  Letters,  221 — The  Commerce  of  Constanti- 
nople, 225. 

XVIII. 

Military  Glory  226-239 

Decay  of  the  Saracen  power,  227 — Conquests  of  Nicephorus 
^_      Phocas,  229 — Capture  of  Antioch,  231 — Murder  of  Nicephorus 
I.,  233 — ^John  Zimisces  defeats  the    Russians,  235 — Triumph 
of  Zimisces,  237 — Death  of  Zimisces,  239. 

XIX. 

The  End  of  the  Macedonian  Dynasty        .     240-248 

The  Bulgarian  Wars,  241 — Death  of  King  Samuel,  243 — The 
Empress  Zee  and  her  Marriages,  245-7. 


CONTIENTS.  XIU 

XX. 

PAGE 

Manzikert  (a.d.  1057-1081)  •        .        .     249-257 

The  coming  of  the  Seljouks,  251— Misfortunes  of  Romanus 
Diogenes,  255 — Character  of  Alexius  Comnenus,  257. 

XXI. 
The  Comneni  and  the  Crusades  .        .     258-273 

Norman  War,  259 — Battle  of  Durazzo,  261 — The  Crusades, 
263 — Conquests  of  Alexius  L,  265 — Second  Norman  War, 
267 — Reign  of  John  Comnenus,  269 — Wars  of  Manuel  I., 
271 — Fall  of  Andronicus  I.,  273. 

XXII. 

The  Latin  Conquest  of  Constantinople     .     274-293 

Misfortunes  of  the  Angeli,  275 — Cyprus  and  Bulgaria  lost, 
277 — The  Fourth  Crusade,  279 — The  Leaders  of  the  Crusade, 
281 — Rising  against  the  Franks,  285— The  two  Sieges  of  Con- 
stantinople, 287 — The  Franks  enter  Constantinople,  289 — 
Plunder  of  the  City,  291— The  End  of  Alexius  Ducas,  293. 

XXIII. 

The   Latin  Empire  and  the  Empire  of  Nicaea 
(a.d.  1 204-1 261) 294-306 

Baldwin  I.  slain  in  Battle,  295 — The  Smaller  Latin  States, 
297 — Successes  of  Theodore  Lascaris,  299 — John  Vatatzes 
conquers  Thrace,  301 — Usurpation  of  Michael  Paleologus, 
303 — The  Franks  driven  from  Constantinople,  305. 

XXIV. 

Decline  and  Decay  (a.d.  i  261-1328)  .    307-320 

Weakness  of  the  restored  Empire,  309 — Commercial  Decay, 
311 — Rise  of  the  Ottoman  Turks,  313 — Turkish  Wars  of 
Andronicus  II.,  315 — Roger  de  Flor,  317 — Asia  Minor  lost, 
319- 


xiv  CONTENTS, 

XXV. 

PAGE 

The  Turks  in  Europe  ....    321-331 

Orkhan  the  Turk,  323 — Revolt  of  Cantacuzenus,  325 — Con- 
quests of  the  Servians,  327— The  Turks  cross  into  Europe, 
329 — Siege  of  Philadelphia,  331. 

XXVI. 

The  End  of  a  Long  Tale  (a.d.  1370-1453)      332-350 

Reign  of  John  Paleologus,  333 — Turkish  Civil  Wars,  335 — 
Murad  II.  attacks  Constantinople,  337— Death  of  Manuel  II., 
339 — ^John  VI.  at  Florence,  341 — Mahomet  II.  attacks  Con- 
stantinople, 343— Apathy  of  the  Greeks,  345 — Last  Hours  of 
Constantine  XI.,  347 — Fall  of  Constantinople,  349. 

Index .        .  351 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

INTERIOR  OF  ST.  SOPHIA Frontispiece. 

EARLY   COIN   OF   BYZANTIUM  4 

LATE    COIN    OF    BYZANTIUM    SHOWING    CRESCENT    AND 

STAR  4 

CONSTANTINE  THE  GREAT  .  .  .  .  ,  o        I4 

MAP  OF  THE   HEART  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE        .  .  o        20 

THE  ATMEIDAN   [HIPPODROME]   AND   ST.   SOPHIA  .        23 

BUILDING  A   PALACE  (FROM   A   BYZANTINE  MS.)         .  .        26 

FIFTEENTH-CENTURY     DRAWING     OF      THE      EQUESTRIAN 

STATUE  OF  CONSTANTINE 28 

GOTHIC   IDOLS   (FROM   THE  COLUMN   OF  ARCADIUS)  .        33 

GOTHIC  CAPT.IVES  (FROM  THE  COLUMN  OF  ARCADIUS)  .  43 
ANGEL  OF  VICTORY  (FROM  A   FIFTH-CENTURY  DIPTYCH). 

FROM     "l'ART    BYZANTIN."      PAR    CHARLES    BAYET. 

PARIS,  QUANTIN,    1 883 58 

THE      EMPRESS     THEODORA     AND     HER      COURT     (FROM 

"  L'ART   BVZANTIN."      PAR   CHARLES    BAYET.      PARIS, 

QUANTIN,    1883) 68 

THtODORA   IMPERATRIX    (FROM   THE    PAINTING   BY  VAL 

PRINSEP.       THE    COPYRIGHT     IS     IN     THE     ARTIST'S 

HANDS) 78 


XVI  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

CAVALRY  SCOUTS  (FROM  A  BYZANTINE  MS.)-  FROM 
"L'ART  BVZANTIN."  par  CHARLES  BAYET.  PARIS, 
QUANTIN,   1883 86 

DETAILS  OF  ST.   SOPHIA  ......        96 

COLUMNS   IN   ST.   SOPHIA  I08 

GALLERIES  OF  ST.   SOPHIA HO 

CROSS  OF  JUSTINUS  II.  (FROM  THE  VATICAN).  FROM 
"L'ART  BYZANTIN."  par  CHARLES  BAYET.  PARIS, 
QUANTIN,    1883 118 

GENERAL  VIEW  OF  ST.  SOPHIA  (FROM  "L'ART  BYZANTIN." 

PAR  C.   BAYET.     PARIS,  QUANTIN,    1 883)     .  .  .      I46 

ILLUMINATED  INITIALS  (FROM  BYZANTINE  MSS.).  FROM 
"  L'ART  BYZANTIN."  PAR  C.  BAYET.  PARIS,  QUANTIN, 
1883 152 

CHURCH  OF  THE  TWELVE  APOSTLES  AT  THESSALONICA 
(FROM  "L'ART  BYZANTIN."  PAR  CHARLES  BAYET. 
PARIS,   QUANTIN,   1 883)         .  .  .  .  .  .      176 

BISHOPS,   MONKS,    KINGS,    LAYMEN,    AND  WOMEN,    ADOR- 
ING THE  MADONNA  (FROM  A  BYZANTINE  MS.).    FROM 
"L'ART   BYZANTIN."      PAR  CHARLES  BAYET.      PARIS, 
QUANTIN,    1883 191 

REPRESENTATION  OF  THE  MADONNA  ENTHRONED  (FROM 
A  BYZANTINE  IVORY).  FROM  "l'aRT  BYZANTIN." 
PAR  CHARLES  BAYET.       PARIS,  QUANTIN,   1 883      .      195 

DETAILS   OF   ST.   SOPHIA  200 

BYZANTINE  METAL  WORK  (OUR  LORD  AND  THE  TWELVE 
apostles),  from  " L'ART  BYZANTIN."  PAR  CHARLES 
EAYET.      PARIS,   QUANTIN,    1883  ."         .  .  .  .      209 

A  WARRIOR-SAINT  (ST.    LEONTIUS)   (FROM  A  BYZANTINE 
,  FRESCO).      FROM  "  L'ART   BYZANTIN."      PAR  CHARLES 
BAYET.      PARIS,   QUANTIN,    1883  ....      223 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  XVll 

PAGE 

RETURN  OF  A  VICTORIOUS  EMPEROR  (FROM  AN  EM- 
BROIDERED robe),  from  "  L'ART  BYZANTIN."  PAR 
CHARLES   BAYET       PARIS,  QUANTIN,    1 883  .  .      232 

arabesque  DESIGN  FROM  A  BYZANTINE  MS.  (FROM 
''l'ART  BYZANTIN."  PAR  CHARLES  BAYET.  PARIS, 
QUANTIN,   1883 o      236 

RUSSIAN  ARCHITECTURE  FROM  BYZANTINE  MODEL 
(CHURCH  AT  VLADIMIR).  FROM  "  L'ART  BYZANTIN." 
PAR  CHARLES   BAYET.      PARIS,   QUANTIN,    1 883  .      238 

OUR  LORD  BLESSING  ROMANUS  DIOGENES  AND  EUDOCIA 
(FROM  AN  IVORY  AT  PARIS).  FROM  "  L'ART  BYZAN- 
TIN."     PAR  CHARLES  BAYET.    PARIS,  QUANTIN,  1 883      253 

NICEPHORUS  BOTANIATES  SITTING  IN  STATE  (FROM  A 
CONTEMPORARY  MS.).  FROM  "  L'ART  BYZANTIN." 
PAR  CHARLES  BAYET.      PARIS,   QUANTIN,    1 883  .      255 

BYZANTINE  IVORY-CARVING  OF  THE  TWELFTH  CENTURY 
(from  THE  BRITISH  MUSEUM).  FROM  "  L'ART 
BYZANTIN."  PAR  CHARLES  BAYET.  PARIS,  QUANTIN, 
1883 266 

HUNTERS  (FROM  A  BYZANTINE  MS.).  FROM  *' L'ART 
BYZANTIN."  PAR  CHARLES  BAYET.  PARIS,  QUANTIN, 
1883 270 

VIEW  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE.     (FROM    THE    SIDE  OF    THE 

HARBOUR) 283 

BYZANTINE  RELIQUARY   (FROM  "  L'ART  BYZANTIN."   PAR 

CHARLES  BAYET.      PARIS,   QUANTIN,    1 883)  .  .      289 

FINIAL  FROM  A  BYZANTINE  MS.  (FROM  "  L'ART  BYZAN- 
TIN."     PAR  CHARLES  BAYET.     PARIS,  QUANTIN,  1 883      299 

FOUNTAIN   IN  THE  COURT  OF  ST.   SOPHIA         .  .  .302 


XVlll  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

BYZANTINE  CHAPEL  AT  ANI,  THE  OLD  CAPITAL  OF 
ARMENIA  (from  "  L'ART  BYZANTIN."  PAR  CHARLES 
BAYET.      PARIS,   QUANTIN,    1883)  .  .  .  -312 

ANDKONICUS  PALEOLOGUS  adoring  OUR  LORD  (FROM 
"l'ART  BYZANTIN."  PAR  CHARLES  BAYET.  PARIS, 
QUANTIN,    1883) 316 

JOHN  CANTACUZENUS  SITTING  IN  STATE  (FROM  A  CON- 
TEMPORARY MS.).  FROM  "L'ART  BYZANTIN."  PAR 
CHARLES   BAYET.      PARIS,   QUANTIN,    1 883  .  .      326 

MANUEL  PALEOLOGUS  AND  HIS  FAMILY  (FROM  A  CON- 
TEMPORARY MS.).  FROM  "l'ART  BYZANTIN."  PAR 
CHARLES   BAYET.      PARIS,   QUANTIN,    1 883  .  .      335 

ARABESQUE  DESIGN  FROM  A  BYZANTINE  MS.  (FROM 
"l'ART  BYZANTIN."  t'lR  CHARLES  BAYET.  PARIS, 
QUANTIN,    1883) 338 

DETAILS   OF   ST.   SOPHIA  ....••      345 

ANGEL  OF  THE   NIGHT   (FROM    "  L'ART   BYZANTIN."     PAR 

CHARLES   BAYET.      PARIS,   QUANTIN,   1 883)  ,  .      350 


THEODORA    IMPERATRIX. 

{From  the  Painting  by  Val.  Prinsep.      The  copyright  is  in  the 
Artist's  hands. \ 


THE  STORY  OF 

THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 


BYZANTIUM. 

Two  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-eight  years 
ago  a  little  fleet  of  galleys  toiled  painfully  against  the 
current  up  the  long  strait  of  the  Hellespont,  rowed 
across  the  broad  Propontis,  and  came  to  anchor  in 
the  smooth  waters  of  the  first  inlet  which  cuts  into  the 
European  shore  of  the  Bosphorus.  There  a  long 
crescent-shaped  creek,  which  after-ages  were  to  know 
as  the  Golden  Horn,  strikes  inland  for  seven  miles, 
forming  a  quiet  backwater  from  the  rapid  stream 
which  runs  outside.  On  the  headland,  enclosed 
between  this  inlet  and  the  open  sea,  a  few  hundred 
colonists  disembarked,  and  hastily  secured  themselves 
from  the  wild  tribes  of  the  inland,  by  running  some 
rough  sort  of  a  stockade  across  the  ground  from  beach 
to  beach.     Thus  was  founded  the  city  of  Byzantium. 

The  settlers  were  Greeks  of  the  Dorian  race, 
natives  of  the  thriving  seaport-state  of  Megara,  one  of 


2  BV'^AMIUM. 

r*    c    c       c      e  c       .  v 

the 'most  enterprising  ot  all  the  cities  of  Hellas  in  the 
time  of  colonial  and  commercial  expansion  which  was 
then  at  its  height.  Wherever  a  Greek  prow  had  cut 
its  way  into  unknown  waters,  there  Megarian  seamen 
were  soon  found  following  in  its  wake.  One  band  of 
these  venturesome  traders  pushed  far  to  the  West  to 
plant  colonies  in  Sicily,  but  the  larger  share  of  the 
attention  of  Megara  was  turned  towards  the  sunrising, 
towards  the  mist-enshrouded  entrance  of  the  Black 
Sea  and  the  fabulous  lands  that  lay  beyond.  There, 
as  legends  told,  was  to  be  found  the  realm  of  the 
Golden  Fleece,  the  Eldorado  of  the  ancient  world, 
where  kings  of  untold  wealth  reigned  over  the  tribes 
of  Colchis  :  there  dwelt,  by  the  banks  of  the  r'ver 
Thermodon,  the  Amazons,  the  warlike  women  who 
had  once  vexed  far-off  Greece  by  their  inroads  :  there, 
too,  was  to  be  found,  if  one  could  but  struggle  far 
enough  up  its  northern  shore,  the  land  of  the  Hyper- 
boreans, the  blessed  folk  who  dwell  behind  the  North 
Wind  and  know  nothing  of  storm  and  winter.  To 
seek  these  fabled  wonders  the  Greeks  sailed  ever 
North  and  East  till  they  had  come  to  the  extreme 
limits  of  the  sea.-  The  riches  of  the  Golden  Fleece 
they  did  not  find,  nor  the  country  of  the  Hyper- 
boreans, nor  the  tribes  of  the  Amazpns  ;  but  they  did 
discover  many  lands  well  worth  the  knowing,  and 
grew  rich  on  the  profits  which  the)-  drew  from  the 
metals  of  Colchis  and  the  forests  of  Paphlagonia,  from 
the  rich  corn  lands  by  the  banks  o(  the  Dnieper  and 
Bug,  and  the  fisheries  of  the  Bosphorus  and  the 
Maeotic  Lake.  Presently  the  whole  coastland  of  the 
sea,  which  the  Greeks,  on  their  first  coming,  called 


FOUNDATION   OF  BYZANTIUM.  3 

Axeinos — "the  Inhospitable" — became  fringed  with 
trading  settlements,  and  its  name  was  changed 
to  Euxeinos — ''the  Hospitable" — in  recognition  of 
its  friendly  ports.  It  was  in  a  similar  spirit  that,  two 
thousand  years  later,  the  seamen  who  led  the  next 
great  impulse  of  exploration  that  rose  in  Europe, 
turned  the  name  of  the  "  Cape  of  Storms  "  into  that 
of  the  "  Cape  of  Good  Hope." 

The  Megarians,  almost  more  than  any  other  Greeks, 
devoted  their  attention  to  the  Euxine,  and  the 
foundation  of  Byzantium  was  but  one  of  their  many 
achievements.  Already,  seventeen  years  before 
Byzantium  came  into  being,  another  band  of 
Megarian  colonists  had  established  themselves  at 
Chalcedon,  on  the  opposite  Asiatic  shore  of  the 
Bosphorus.  The  settlers  who  were  destined  to  found 
the  greater  city  applied  to  the  oracle  of  Delphi  to 
give  them  advice  as  to  the  site  of  their  new  home,  and 
Apollo,  we  are  told,  bade  them  "  build  their  town 
over  against  the  city  of  the  blind."  They  therefore 
pitched  upon  the  headland  by  the  Golden  Horn, 
reasoning  that  the  Chalcedonians  were  truly  blind  to 
have  neglected  the  more  eligible  site  on  the  Thracian 
shore,  in  order  to  found  a  colony  on  the  far  less  in- 
viting Bithynian  side  of  the  strait. 

From  the  first  its  situation  m.arked  out  Byzantium 
as  destined  for  a  great  future.  Alike  from  the  mili- 
tary and  from  the  commercial  point  of  view  no  city 
could  have  been  better  placed.  Looking  out  from  the 
easternmost  headland  of  Thrace,  with  all  Europe 
behind  it  and  all  Asia  before,  it  was  equally  well 
suited  to  be  the  frontier  fortress  to  defend  the  border 


BYZANTIUM. 


of  the  one,  or  the  basis  of  operations  for  an  invasion 
from  the  other.  As  fortresses  went  in  those  early  days 
it  was  almost  impregnable — two  sides  protected  by 
the  water,  the  third  by  a  strong  wall  not  commanded 
by  any  neighbouring  heights.  In  all  its  early  history 
Byzantium  never  fell  by  storm  :  famine  or  treachery 
accounted  for  the  few  occasions  on  which  it  fell  into 
the  hands  of  an  enemy.  In  its  commercial  aspect  the 
place  was  even  more  favourably  situated.  It  com- 
pletely commanded  the  whole  Black  Sea  trade  :  every 


EARLY   COIN   OF  BYZANTIUM 


LATE    COIN    OF    BYZANTIUM    SHOWING    CRESCENT    AND    STAR. 

vessel  that  went  forth  from  Greece  or  Ionia  to  traffic 
with  Scythia  or  Colchis,  the  lands  by  the  Danube 
mouth  or  the  shores  of  the  Maeotic  Lake,  had  to  pass 
close  under  its  walls,  so  that  the  prosperity  of  a  hun- 
dred Hellijnic  towns  on  the  Euxine  was  always  at  the 
mercy  of  the  masters  of  Byzantium.  The  Greek  loved 
short  stages  and  frequent  stoppages,  and  as  a  half-way 
house  alone  Byzantium  would  have  been  prosperous  : 
but  it  had  also  a  flourishing  local  trade  of  its  own 
with  the  tribes  of  the  neighbouring  Thracian  inland, 


AS   AN   INDEPENDENT    STATE.  5 

and  drew  much  profit  from  its  fisheries  :  so  much  s^- 
that  the  city  badge — its  coat  of  arms  as  we  should 
call  it — comprised  a  tunny-fish  as  well  as  the  famous 
ox  whose  form  alluded  to  the  legend  of  the  naming 
of  the  Bosphorus.i 

As  an  independent  state  Byzantium  had  a  long  and 
eventful  history.  For  thirty  years  it  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  kings  of  Persia,  but  with  that  short  exception 
it  maintained  its  freedom  during  the  first  three  hun- 
dred years  that  followed  its  foundation.  Many  stirring 
scenes  took  .place  beneath  its  walls  :  it  was  close  to 
them  that  the  great  Darius  threw  across  the 
Bosphorus  his  bridge  of  boats,  which  served  as  a 
model  for  the  more  famous  structure  on  which  his 
son  Xerxes  crossed  the  Hellespont.  Fifteen  years 
later,  when  Byzantium  in  common  with  all  its  neigh- 
bours made  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  throw  off  the 
Persian  yoke,  in  the  rising  called  the  "  Ionic  Revolt," 
it  was  held  for  a  time  by  the  arch-rebel  Histiaeus, 
who — as  much  to  enrich  himself  as  to  pay  his  seamen 
— invented  strait  dues.  He  forced  every  ship  passing 
up  or  down  the  Bosphorus  to  pay  a  heavy  toll,  and 
won  no  small  unpopularity  thereby  for  the  cause  of 
freedom  which  he  professed  to  champion.  Ere  long 
Byzantium  fell  hack  again  into  the  hands  of  Persia, 
but  she  was  finally  freed  from  the  Oriental  yoke 
seventeen  years  later,  when  the  victorious  Greeks, 
fresh  from  the  triumph  of  Salamis  and  Mycale,  sailed 
up  to  her  walls  and  after  a  long  leaguer  starved  out 

"  See  coin  on  opposite  page.  The  Bosphorus  was  supposed  to 
have  drawn  its  name  from  being  the  place  where  lo,  when  transformed 
into  a  cow,  forded  the  strait  from  Europe  into  Asia  [Bovg-TropoQ], 


6  BYZANTIUM. 

the  obstinate  garrison  [B.C.  479].  The  fleet  wintered 
there,  and  it  was  at  Byzantium  that  the  first  founda- 
tions of  the  naval  empire  of  Athens  were  laid,  when 
all  the  Greek  states  of  Asia  placed  their  ships  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Athenian  admirals  Cimon  and 
Aristeides. 

During-  the  fifth  century  Byzantium  twice  declared 
war  on  Athens,  now  the  mistress  of  the  seas,  and  on 
each  occasion  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy — once 
by  voluntary  surrender  in  439  B.C.,  once  by  treachery 
from  within,  in  408  B.C.  But  the  Athenians,  except  in 
one  or  two  disgraceful  cases,  did  not  deal  hardly  with 
their  conquered  enemies,  and  the  Byzantines  escaped 
anything  harder  than  the  payment  of  a  heavy  war 
indemnity.  In  a  few  years  their  commercial  gains 
repaired  all  the  losses  of  war,  and  the  state  was  itself 
again. 

We  know  comparatively  little  about  the  internal 
history  of  these  early  centuries  of  the  life  of  Byzantium. 
Some  odd  fragments  of  information  survive  here  and 
there  :  we  know,  for  example,  that  they  used  iron 
instead  of  copper  for  small  money,  a  peculiarity 
shared  by  no  other  ancient  state- save  Sparta.  Theii 
alphabet  rejoiced  in  an  abliormally  shaped  B,  which 
puzzled  all  other  Greeks,  for  it  resembled  a  TT  n'ith  an 
extra  limb.^  The  chief  gods  of  the  city  were  those 
that  we  might  have  expected — Poseidon  the  ruler  of 
the  sea,  whose  blessing  gave  Byzantium  its  chief 
wealth  ;  and  Demeter,  the  goddess  who  presided  over 
the  Thracian  and  Scythian  corn  lands  which  formed 
its  second  source  of  prosperity. 

'  See  coin  on  page  4. 


BYZANTINE   LUXURY.  -  7 

The  Byzantines  were,  if  ancient  chroniclers  tell  us 
the  truth,  a  luxurious  as  well  as  a  busy  race  :  they 
spent  too  much  time  in  their  numerous  inns,  where 
the  excellent  wines  of  Maronea  and  other  neighbour- 
ing places  offered  great  temptations.  They  were 
gluttons  too  as  well  as  tipplers  :  on  one  occasion,  we 
are  assured,  the  whole  civic  militia  struck  work  in  the 
height  of  a  siege,  till  their  commander  consented  to 
allow  restaurants  to  be  erected  at  convenient  distances 
round  the  ramparts.  One  comic  writer  informs  us 
that  the  Byzantines  were  eating  young  tunny-fish — 
their  fav^ourite  dish — so  constantly,  that  their  whole 
bodies  had  become  well-nigh  gelatinous,  and  it  was 
thought  they  might  melt  if  exposed  to  too  great  heat ! 
Probably  these  tales  are  the  scandals  of  neighbours 
who  envied  Byzantine  prosperity,  for  it  is  at  any  rate 
certain  that  the  city  showed  all  through  its  history 
great  energy  and  love  of  independence,  and  never 
shrank  from  war  as  we  should  have  expected  a  nation 
of  epicures  to  do. 

It  was  not  till  the  rise  of  Philip  of  Macedon  and 
his  greater  son  Alexander  that  Byzantium  fell  for  the 
fifth  time  into  the  hands  of  an  enemy.  The  elder 
king  was  repulsed  from  the  city's  walls  after  a  long 
siege,culminating  in  an  attempt  at  an  escalade  by  night, 
which  was  frustrated  owing  to  the  sudden  appearance 
of  a  light  in  heaven,  which  revealed  the  advancing 
enemy  and  was  taken  by  the  Byzantines  as  a  token 
of  special  divine  aid  [B.C.  339].  In  commemoration 
of  it  they  assumed  as  one  of  their  civic  badges  the 
blazing  crescent  and  star,  which  has  descended  to  our 
own  days  and  is  still  used  as  an  emblem  by  the  present 


8  BYZANTIUM. 

owners  of  the  city — the  Ottoman  Sultans.  But  after 
repulsing  Philip  the  Byzantines  had  to  submit  some 
years  later  to  Alexander.  They  formed  under  him 
part  of  the  enormous  Macedonian  empire,  and  passed 
on  his  decease  through  the  hands  of  his  successors — 
Demetrius  Poliorcetes,  and  Lysimachus.  After  the 
de^th  of  the  latter  in  battle,  however,  they  recovered 
a  precarious  freedom,  and  were  again  an  independent 
community  for  a  hundred  years,  till  the  power  of 
Rome  invaded  the  regions  of  Thrace  and  the  Helles- 
pont. 

Byzantium  was  one  of  the  cities  which  took  the 
wise  course  of  making  an  early  alliance  with  the 
Romans,  and  obtained  good  and  easy  terms  in  conse- 
quence. During  the  wars  of  Rome  with  Macedon 
and  Antiochus  the  Great  it  proved  such  a  faithful 
assistant  that  the  Senate  gave  it  the  status  of  ^.civiias 
libera  et  foederata,  "  a  free  and  confederate  city,"  and 
it  was  not  taken  under  direct  Roman  government,  but 
allowed  complete  liberty  in  everything  save  the  con- 
trol of  its  foreign  relations  and  the  payment  of  a 
tribute  to  Rome.  It  was  not  till  the  Roman  Republic 
had  long  passed  away,  that  the  Emperor  Vespasian 
stripped  it  of  these  privileges,  and  threw  it  into  the 
province  of  Thrace,  to  exist  for  the  future  as  an 
ordinary  provincial  town  [a.d.  'ji\. 

Though  deprived  of  a  liberty  which  had  for  long 
years  been  almost  nominal,  Byzantium  could  not  be 
deprived  of  its  unrivalled  position  for  commerce.  It 
continued  to  flourish  under  the  Pax  Romaiia,  the 
long-continued  peace  which  all  the  inner  countries  of 
the  empire  enjoyed  during  the  first  two  centuries  of 


BYZANTIUM  DESTROYED  A.D.    I96.  9 

the  imoerial  regime,  and  is  mentioned  again  and  again 
as  one  of  the  most  important  cities  of  the  middle 
reg^ions  of  the  Roman  world. 

But  an  evil  time  for  Byzantium,  as  for  all  the  other 
parts  of  the  civilized  world,  began  when  the  golden 
agfe  of  the  Antonines  ceased,  and  the  epoch  of  the  mili- 
rary  emoerors  followed.  In  192  A.D.,  Commodus,  the 
unworthy  son  of  the  great  and  good  Marcus  Aurelius, 
was  murdered,  and  ere  long  three  military  usurpers 
were  wraneling  for  his  blood-stained  diadem.  Most 
unhappily  for  itself  Byzantium  lay  on  the  line  of 
division  between  the  eastern  provinces,  where  Pes- 
cennius  Nig:er  had  been  proclaimed,  and  the  Illyrian 
provinces,  where  Severus  had  assumed  the  imperial 
stvle.  The  city  was  seized  by  the  army  of  Syria,  and 
strenethened  in  haste.  Presently  Severus  appeared 
from  the  west,  after  he  had  made  himself  master  of 
Rome  and  Italy,  and  fell  upon  the  forces  of  his  rival 
Pescennius.  Victory  followed  the  arms  of  the  Illy- 
rian legions,'  the  east  was  subdued,  and  the  Syrian 
emoeror  out  to  death.  But  when  all  his  other 
adherents  had  yielded,  the  garrison  of  Byzantium 
refused  to  submit.  For  more  than  two  years  they 
maintained  the  impregnable  city  against  the  lieu- 
tenants of  Severus,  and  it  was  not  till  A.D.  196  that 
they  were  forced  to  yield.  The  emperor  appeared  in 
person  to  ounish  the  long-protracted  resistance  of  the 
town  :  not  only  the  garrison,  but  the  civil  magistrates 
of  Byzantium  were  slain  before  his  eyes.  The  massive 
walls  "  so  firmly  built  with  great  square  stones  clamped 
toeether  with  bolts  of  iron,  that  the  whole  seemed  but 
one  block."  were  laboriously  cast  down.   The  property 


10  BYZANTIUM. 

of  the  citizens  was  confiscated,  and  the  town  itself 
deprived  of  all  municipal  privileges  and  handed  over 
to  be  governed  like  a  dependent  village  by  its  neigh- 
bours of  Perinthus. 

Caracalla,  the  son  of  Severus,  gave  back  to  the 
Byzantines  the  right  to  govern  themselves,  but  the 
town  had  received  a  hard  blow,  and  would  have 
required  a  long  spell  of  peace  to  recover  its  prosperity. 
Peace  however  it  was  not  destined  to  see.  All  through 
the  middle  years  of  the  third  century  it  was  vexed  by 
the  incursions  of  the  Goths,  who  harried  mercilessly 
the  countries  on  the  Black  Sea  whose  commerce  sus- 
tained its  trade.  Under  Gallienus  in  A.D.  263  it  was 
again  seized  by  an  usurping  emperor,  and  shared  the 
fate  of  his  adherents.  The  soldiers  of  Gallienus 
sacked  Byzantium  from  cellar  to  garret,  and  made 
such  a  slaughter  of  its  inhabitants  that  it  is  said  that 
ihe  old  Megarian  race  who  had  so  long  possessed  it 
were  absolutely  exterminated.  But  the  irresistible 
attraction  of  the  site  was  too  great  to  allow  its  ruins 
to  remain  desolate.  Within  ten  years  after  its  sack 
by  the  army  of  Gallienus,  we  find  Byzantium  again 
a  populous  town,  and  its  inhabitants  are  specially 
praised  by  the  historian  Trebellius  Pollio  for  the 
courage  with  which  they  repelled  a  Gothic  raid  in  the 
reign  of  Claudius  II. 

The  strong  Illyrian  emperors,  who  staved  off  from 
the  Roman  Empire  the  ruin  which  appeared  about  to 
overwhelm  it  in  the  third  quarter  of  the  third  century, 
gave  Byzantium  time, and  peace  to  recover  its  ancient 
prosperity.  It  profited  especially  from  the  constant 
neighbourhood  of  the  imperial  court,  after  Diocletian 


TAKEN   BY   MAXIM  IN  US.  II 

fixed  his  residence  at  Nicomedia,  only  sixty  miles 
away,  on  the  Bithynian  side  of  the  Propontis.  But 
the  military  importance  of  Byzantium  was  always 
interfering  with  its  commercial  greatness.  After  the 
abdication  of  Diocletian  the  empire  was  for  twenty 
years  vexed  by  constant  partitions  of  territory  betweeii 
the  colleagues  whom  he  left  behind  Him.  Byzantium 
after  a  while  found  itself  the  border  fortress  of  Licinius, 
the  emperor  who  ruled  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  while 
Maximinus  Daza  was  governing  the  Asiatic  provinces. 
While  Licinius  was  absent  in  Italy,  Maximinus 
treacherously  attacked  his  rival's  dominions  without 
declaration  of  war,  and  took  Byzantium  by  surprise.  But 
the  Illyrian  emperor  returned  in  haste,  defeated  his 
grasping  neighbour  not  far  from  the  walls  of  the  city, 
and  recovered  his  great  frontier  fortress  after  it  had 
been  only  a  few  months  out  of  his  hands  [a.D.  314]. 
The  town  must  have  suffered  severely  by  changing 
masters  twice  in  the  same  year  ;  it  does  not,  however, 
seem  to  have  been  sacked  or  burnt,  as  was  so  often 
the  case  with  a  captured  city  in  those  dismal  days. 
But  Licinius  when  he  had  recovered  the  place  set  to 
work  to  render  it  impregnable.  Though  it  was  not 
his  capital  he  made  it  the  chief  fortress  of  his  realm, 
which,  since  the  defeat  of  Maximinus,  embraced  the 
whole  eastern  half  of  the  Roman  world. 

It  was  accordingly  at  Byzantium  that  Licinius 
made  his  last  desperate  stand,  when  in  A.D,  323  he 
found  himself  engaged  in  an  unsuccessful  war  with 
his  brother-in-law  Constantine,  the  Emperor  of  the 
West.  For  many  months  the  war  stood  still  beneath 
the  walls  of  the  city  ;  but  Constantine  persevered  in 


12  BYZANTIUM, 

the  siege,  raising  great  mounds  which  overlooked  the 
walls,  and  sweeping  away  the  defenders  by  a  constant 
stream  of  missiles,  launched  from  dozens  of  military 
engines  which  he  had  erected  on  these  artificial 
heights.  At  last  the  city  surrendered,  and  the  cause 
of  Licinius  was  lost.  Constantine,  the  last  of  his 
rivals  subdued,  became  the  sole  emperor  of  the 
Roman  world,  and  stood  a  victor  on  the  ramparts 
which  were  ever  afterwards  to  bear  his  name. 


II. 


THE   FOUNDATION   OF  CONSTANTINOPLE. 


(A.D.    328-330.) 


When  the  fall  of  Byzantium  had  wrecked  the 
fortunes  of  Licinius,  the  Roman  world  was  agam 
united  beneath  the  sceptre  of  a  single  master.  For 
thirty-seven  years,  ever  since  Diocletian  parcelled 
out  the  provinces  with  his  colleagues,  unity  had  been 
unknown,  and  emperors,  whose  number  had  some- 
times risen  to  six  and  sometimes  sunk  to  two.  had 
administered  their  realms  on  different  principles  and 
with  varying  success. 

Constantine,  whose  victory  over  his  rivals  had  been 
secured  by  his  talents  as  an  administrator  and  a 
diplomatist  no  less  than  by  his  military  skill,  was  one 
of  those  men  whose  hard  practical  ability  has  stamoed 
upon  the  history  of  the  world  a  much  deeper  imoress 
than  has  been  left  by  many  conquerors  and  legislators 
of  infinitely  greater  genius.  He  was  a  man  of  that 
self-contained,  self-reliant,  unsympathetic  type  of  mind 


14        THE   FOUNDATION   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE, 

which  we  recognize  in  his  great  predecessor  Augustus, 
or  in  Frederic  the  Great  of  Prussia.    . 

Though  the  strain  of  old  Roman  blood  in  his  veins 
must  have  been  but  small,  Constantine  was  in  many 
ways  a  typical  Roman  ;  the   hard,  cold,  steady,  un- 


C0NSrAMTINV5AVGf 

'llllll)llllllllllllll^lll)illl!""i"!'''"lil)l>llllilHllllJJll 


CONSTANTINE   THE   GREAT. 


wearying  energy,  which  in  earlier  centuries  had  won 
the  empire  of  the  world,  was  once  more  incarnate  in 
him.  But  if  Roman  in  character,  he  was  anything 
but  Roman  in  his  sympathies^     Born  b\-  the  Danube, 


CONSTANTINE    THE    GREAT.  15 

reared  in  the  courts  and  camps  of  Asia  and  Gaul,  he 

was  absolutely  free  from  any  of  that  superstitious 
reverence  for  the  ancient  glories  of  the  city  on  the 
Tiber  which  had  inspired  so  many  of  his  predecessors. 
Italy  was  to  him  but  a  secondary  province  amongst 
his  wide  realms.  When  he  distributed  his  dominions 
among  his  heirs,  it  was  Gaul  that  he  gave  as  the 
noblest  share  to  his  eldest  and  best-loved  son  :  Italy 
was  to  him  a  younger  child's  portion.  There  had 
been  emperors  before  him  who  had  neglected  Rome  : 
the  barbarian  Maximinus  I.  had  dwelt  by  the  Rhine 
and  the  Danube  ;  the  politic  Diocletian  had  chosen 
Nicomedia  as  his  favourite  residence.  But  no  one 
had  yet  dreamed  of  raising  up  a  rival  to  the  mistress 
of  the  world,  and  of  turning  Rome  into  a  provincial 
town.  If  preceding  emperors  had  dwelt  far  afield, 
it  was  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  war  on  the  frontiers 
or  the  government  of  distant  provinces.  It  was 
reserved  for  Constantine  to  erect  over  against  Rome 
a  rival  metropolis  for  the  civilized  world,  an  imperial 
city  which  was  to  be  neither  a  mere  camp  nor  a  mere 
court,  but  the  administrative  and  commercial  centre 
of  the  Roman  world. 

For  more  than  a  hundred  years  Rome  had  been  a 
most  inconvenient  residence  for  the  emperors.  The 
main  problem  which  had  been  before  them  was  the 
repelling  of  incessant  barbarian  inroads  on  the  Balkan 
Peninsula  ;  the  troubles  on  the  Rhine  and  the  Eu- 
phrates, though  real  enough,  had  been  but  minor  evils. 
Rome,  placed  half  way  down  the  long  projection  of 
Ital)',  handicapped  by  its  bad  harbours  and  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  empire  by  the  passes  of  the  Alps, 


l6        THE   FOUNDATION    OF   CONSTANTINOPLE. 

was  too  far  away  from  the  points  where  the  emperor 
was  most  wanted — the  banks  of  the  Danube  and  the 
walls  of  Sirmium  and  Singidunum.  For  the  ever- 
recurring  wars  with  Persia  it  was  even  more  incon- 
venient ;  but  these  were  less  pressing  dangers  ;  no 
Persian  army  had  yet  penetrated  beyond  Antioch — 
only  200  miles  from  the  frontier — while  in  the  Balkan 
Peninsula  the  Goths  had  broken  so  far  into  the  heart 
of  the  empire  as  to  sack  Athens  and  Thessalonica. 

Constantine,  with  all  the  Roman  world  at  his  feet, 
and  ail  its  responsibilities  weighing  on  his  mind,  was 
far  too  able  a  man  to  overlook  the  great  need  of  the 
day — a  more  conveniently  placed  administrative  and 
military  centre  for  his  empire.  He  required  a  place 
that  should  be  easily  accessible  by  land  and  sea — 
which  Rome  had  never  been  in  spite  of  its  wonderful 
roads — that  should  overlook  the  Danube  lands,  with- 
out being  too  far  away  from  the  East  ;  that  should  be 
so  strongly  situated  that  it  might  prove  an  impreg- 
nable arsenal  and  citadel  against  barbarian  attacks 
from  the  north  ;  that  should  at  the  same  time  be  far 
enough  away  from  the  turmoil  of  the  actual  frontier 
to  afford  a  safe  and  splendid  residence  for  the  imperial 
court  The  names  of  several  towns  are  given  by 
historians  as  having  suggested  themselves  to  Con- 
stantine. First  was  his  own  birth-place  —  Naissus 
(Nisch)  on  the  Morava,  in  the  heart  of  the  Balkan 
Peninsula  ;  but  Naissus  had  little  to  recommend  it : 
it  was  too  close  to  the  frontier  and  too  far  from  the 
sea.  Sardica — the  modern  Sofia  in  Bulgaria — was 
liable  to  the  same  objections,  and  had  not  the  sole 
advantage  of   Naissus,   that  of    being  connected  in 


CONSTANTINKS  CHOICE.  1 7 

sentiment  with  the  emperor's  early  days.  Nicomedia 
on  its  long  gulf  at  the  east  end  of  the  Propontis  was 
a  more  eligible  situation  in  every  way,  and  had 
already  served  as  an  imperial  residence.  But  all 
that  could  be  urged  in  favour  of  Nicomedia  applied 
with  double  force  to  Byzantium,  and,  in  addition, 
Constantine  had  no  wish  to  choose  a  city  in  which 
his  own  memory  would  be  eclipsed  by  that  of  his 
predecessor  Diocletian,  and  whose  name  was  associ- 
ated by  the  Christians,  the  class  of  his  subjects  whom 
he  had  most  favoured  of  late,  with  the  persecutions 
of  Diocletian  and  Galerius.  For  Ilium,  the  last  place 
on  which  Constantine  had  cast  his  mind,  nothing 
could  be  alleged  except  its  ancient  legendary  glories, 
and  the  fact  that  the  mythologists  of  Rome  had 
always  fabled  that  their  city  drew  its  origin  from  the 
exiled  Trojans  of  ^Eneas.  Though  close  to  the  sea 
it  had  no  good  harbour,  and  it  was  just  too  far  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Hellespont  to  command  effectu- 
ally the  exit  of  the  Euxine. 

Byzantium,  on  the  other  hand,  was  thoroughly 
well  known  to  Constantine.  For  months  his  camp 
had  been  pitched  beneath  its  walls ;  he  must  have 
known  accurately  every  inch  of  its  environs,  and  none 
of  its  military  advantages  can  have  missed  his  eye. 
Nothing,  then,  could  have  been  more  natural  than  his 
selection  of  the  old  Megarian  city  for  his  new  capital. 
Yet  the  Roman  world  was  startled  at  the  first  news 
of  his  choice  ;  Byzantium  had  been  so  long  known 
merely  as  a  great  port  of  call  for  the  Euxine  trade, 
and  as  a  first-class  provincial  fortress,  that  it  was 
hard  to  conceive  of  it  as  a  destined  seat  of  empire. 


1 8        THE   FOUNDATION   OF    CONSTANTINOPLE. 

When  once  Constantine  had  determined  to  make 
Byzantium  his  capital,  in  preference  to  any  other 
place  in  the  Balkan  lands,  his  measures  were  taken 
with  his  usual  energy  and  thoroughness.  The  limits 
of  the  new  city  were  at  once  marked  out  by  solemn 
processions  in  the  old  Roman  style.  In  later  ages  a 
picturesque  legend  was  told  to  account  for  the  ma.g- 
nificent  scale  on  which  it  was  planned.  The  emperor, 
we  read,  marched  out  on  foot,  followed  by  all  his 
court,  and  traced  with  his  spear  the  line  where  the 
new  fortifications  were  to"  be  drawn.  As  he  paced 
on  further  and  further  westward  along  the  shore  of 
the  Golden  Horn,  till  he  was  more  than  two  miles 
away  from  his  starting-point,  the  gate  of  old  Byzan- 
tium, his  attendants  grew  more  and  more  surprised  at 
the  vastness  of  his  scheme.  At  last  they  ventured  to 
observe  that  he  had  already  exceeded  the  most  ample 
limits  that  an  imperial  city  could  require.  But  Con- 
stantine turned  to  rebuke  them  :  "  I  shall  go  on,"  he 
said,  "  until  He,  the  invisible  guide  who  marches 
before  me,  thinks  fit  to  stop."  Guided  by  his  myste- 
rious presentiment  of  greatness,  the  emperor  advanced 
till  he  was  three  miles  from  the  eastern  angle  oi 
Byzantium,  and  only  turned  his  steps  when  he  had 
included  in  his  boundary  line  all  the  seven  hills  which 
are  embraced  in  the  peninsula  between  the  Propontis 
and  the  Golden  Horn. 

The  rising  ground  just  outside  the  walls  of  the  old 
city,  where  Constantine's  tent  had  been  pitched  during 
the  siege  of  A.D.  323,  was  selected  out  as  the  market- 
place of  the  new  foundation.  There  he  erected  the 
Milion,  or  "  golden    milestone,"  from  which   all  the 


THE    TOPOGRAPHY   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE,         IQ 

distances  of  the  eastern  world  were  in  future  to  be 
measured.  This  "  central  point  of  the  world  "  was 
not  a  mere  single  stone,  but  a  small  building  like  a 
temple,  its  roof  supported  by  seven  pillars  ;  within 
was  placed  the  statue  of  the  emperor,  together  with 
that  of  his  venerated  mother,  the  Christian  Empress 
Helena. 

The  south-eastern  part  of  the  old  town  of  Byzan- 
tium was  chosen  by  Constantine  for  the  site  of  his 
imperial  palace.  The  spot  was  cleared  of  all  private 
dwellings  for  a  space  of  150  acres,  to  give  space 
not  only  for  a  magnificent  residence  for  his  whole 
court,  but  for  spacious  gardens  and  pleasure-grounds. 
A  wall,  commencing  at  the  Lighthouse,  where  the 
Bosphorus  joins  the  Propontis,  turned  inland  and 
swept  along  parallel  to  the  shore  for  about  a  mile, 
in  order  to  shut  off  the  imperial  precinct  from  the 
city. 

North-west  of  the  palace  lay  the  central  open  space 
in  which  the  life  of  Constantinople  was  to  find  its  centre. 
This  was  the  "Augustaeum,"  a  splendid  oblong  forum, 
about  a  thousand  feet  long  by  three  hundred  broad. 
It  was  paved  with  marble  and  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  stately  public  buildings.  To  its  east,  as  we  have 
already  said,  lay  the  imperial  palace,  but  between  the 
palace  and  the  open  space  were  three  detached  edi- 
fices connected  by  a  colonnade.  Of  these,  the  most 
easterly  was  the  Great  Baths,  known,  from  their 
builder,  as  the  "  Baths  of  Zeuxippus."  They  were 
built  on  the  same  magnificent  scale  which  the  earlier 
emperors  had  used  in  Old  Rome,  though  they  could 
not,  perhaps,  vie  in  size  with   the  enormous   Baths 


THE   SENATE   HOUSE.  21 

of  Caracalla.  Constantine  utilized  and  enlarged  the 
old  public  bath  of  Byzantium,  which  had  been  re- 
built after  the  taking  of  the  city  by  Severus.  He 
adorned  the  frontage  and  courts  of  the  edifice  with 
statues  taken  from  every  prominent  town  of  Greece 
and  Asia,  the  old  Hellenic  masterpieces  which  had 
escaped  the  rapacious  hands  of  twelve  generations 
of  plundering  proconsuls  and  Caesars.  There  were 
to  be  seen  the  Athene  of  Lyndus,  the  Amphithrite 
of  Rhodes,  the_Ea«  which  had  been  consecrated  by 
the  Greeks  after  the  defeat  of  Xerxes,  and  the  Zeus 
of  Dodona. 

Adjoining  the  Baths,  to  the  north,  lay  the  second 
great  building,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Augustaeum — 
the  Senate  House.  Constantine  had  determined  to 
endow  his  new  city  with  a  senate  modelled  on  that 
of  Old  Rome,  and  had  indeed  persuaded  many  old 
senatorial  families  to  migrate  eastward  by  judicious 
gifts  of  pensions  and  houses.  We  know  that  the 
assembly  was  worthily  housed,  but  no  details  survive 
about  Constantine's  building,  on  account  of  its  having 
been  twice  destroyed  within  the  century.  But,  like 
the  Baths  of  Zeuxippus,  it  was  adorned  with  ancient 
statuary,  among  which  the  Nine  Muses  of  Helicon 
are  specially  cited  by  the  historian  who  describes  the 
burning  of  the  place  in  A.D.  404. 

Linked  to  the  Senate  House  by  a  colonnade,  lay  on 
the  north  the  Palace  of  the  Patriarch,  as  the  Bishop  of 
Byzantium  was  ere  long  to  be  called,  when  raised  to 
the  same  status  as  his  brethren  of  Antioch  and 
Alexandria.  A  fine  building  in  itself,  with  a  spacious 
hall  of  audience  and  a  garden,  the  patriarchal  dwelling 


22        THE   FOUNDATION   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE. 

was  yet  completely  overshadowed  by  the  imperial 
palace  which  rose  behind  it.  And  so  it  was  with 
the  patriarch  himself:  he  lived  too  near  his  royal 
master  to  be  able  to  gain  any  independent  authority. 
Physically  and  morally  aHke  he  was  too  much  over- 
looked by  his  august  neighbour,  and  never  found  the 
least  opportunity  of  setting  up  an  independent  spiritual 
authority  over  against  the  civil  government,  or  of 
founding  an  iniperiuui  hi  iinperio  like  the  Bishop  of 
Rome. 

All  along  the  western  side  of  the  Augustaeum, 
facing  the  three  buildings  which  we  have  already 
described,  lay  an  edifice  which  played  a  very  pro- 
minent part  in  the  public  life  of  Constantinople. 
This  was  the  great  Hippodrome^  a  splendid  circus 
640  cubits  long  and  160  broad,  in  which  were  re- 
newed the  games  that  Old  Rome  had  known  so  well. 
The  whole  system  of  the  chariot  races  between  the 
teams  that  represented  the  "  factions  "  of  the  Circus 
was  reproduced  at  Byzantium  with  an  energy  that 
even  surpassed  the  devotion  of  the  Romans  to  horse 
racing.  From  the  first  foundation,  of  the  city  the 
rivalry  of  the  "  Blues "  and  the  ''  Greens  "  was  one 
of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  life  of  the  place. 
It  was  carried  far  beyond  the  circus,  and  spread  into 
all  branches  of  life.  We  often  hear  of  the  "  Green  " 
faction  identifying  itself  with  Arianism,  or  of  the 
"  Blue  "  supportmg  a  pretender  to  the  throne.  Not 
merely  men  o{  sporting  interests,  but  persons  of  all 
ranks  and  professions,  chose  their  colour  and  backed 
their  faction.  The  system  was  a  positive  danger  to 
the  public  peace,  and  constantly  led  to  riots,  culmi- 


^^^^ 

^m 

V:,:  )'■    '■)  1 

""^ 

mi 

t 

h' 

l-lliil 

£4        THE   FOUNDATION   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE. 

nating  in  the  great  sedition  of  A.D.  523,  which  we 
shall  presently  have  to  describe  at  length.  In  the 
Hippodrome  the  "  Greens "  always  entered  by  the 
north-eastern  gate,  and  sat  on  the  east  side ;  the 
"  Blues "  approached  by  the  north-western  gate  and 
stretched  along  the  western  side.  The  emperor's 
box,  called  the  Kathisma,  occupied  the  whole  of  the 
snort  northern  side,  and  contained  many  hundreds  of 
sears  for  the  imperial  retinue.  The  great  central 
tnrone  of  the  Kathisma  was  the  place  in  which  the 
monarch  showed  himself  most  frequently  to  his  sub- 
jects, and  around  it  many  strange  scenes  were  enacted. 
It  was  on  this  throne  that  the  rebel  Hypatius  was 
crowned  emperor  by  the  mob,  with  his  own  wife's 
necklace  for  an  impromptu  diadem.  Here  also,  two 
centuries  later,  the  Emperor  Justinian  H.  sat  in  state 
after  his  reconquest  of  Constantinople,  with  his  rivals, 
Leontius  and  Apsimarus,  bound  beneath  his  foot- 
stool, while  the  populace  chanted,  in  allusion  to  the 
names  of  the  vanquished  princes,  the  verse,  "  Thou 
shalt  trample  on  the  Lion  and  the  Asp." 

Down  the  centre  of  the  Hippodrome  ran  the 
"  spina,"  or  division  wall,  which  every  circus  showed  ; 
it  was  ornamented  with  three  most  curious  monu- 
ments, whose  strange  juxtaposition  seemed  almost 
to  typify  the  heterogeneous  materials  from  which  the 
new  city  was  built  up.  The  first  and  oldest  was  an 
obelisk  brought  from  Egypt,  and  covered  with  the 
usual  hieroglyphic  inscriptions  ;  the  second  was  the 
most  notable,  though  one  of  the  least  beautiful,  of 
the  antiquities  of  Constantinople  :  it  was  the  three- 
headed     brazen    serpent    which    Pausanias    and    the 


THE    HIPPODROME.  2^ 

victorious  Greeks  had  dedicated  at  Delphi  in  479 
B.C.,  after  they  had  destroyed  the  Persian  army  at 
Plataea.  The  golden  tripod,  which  was  supported 
by  the  heads  of  the  serpents,  had  long  been  wanting  : 
the  sacrilegious  Phocians  had  stolen  it  six  centuries 
before  ;  but  the  dedicatory  inscriptions  engraved  on 
the  coils  of  the  pedestal  survived  then  and  survive 
now  to  delight  the  archaeologist.  The  third  monu- 
ment on  the  "  spina  "  was  a  square  bronze  column  of 
more  modern  work,  contrasting  strangely  with  the 
venerable  antiquity  of  its  neighbours.  By  some 
freak  of  chance  all  three  monuments  have  remained 
till  our  own  day  :  the  vast  walls  of  the  Hippodrome 
have  crumbled  away,  but  its  central  decorations  still 
stand  erect  in  the  midst  of  an  open  space  which  the 
Turks  call  the  Atmeidan,  or  place  of  horses,  in  dim 
memory  of  its  ancient  use. 

Along  the  outer  eastern  wall  of  the  Hippodrome 
on  the  western  edge  of  the  Augustaeum,  stood  a 
range  of  small  chapels  and  statues,  the  most  im- 
portant landmark  among  them  being  the  Milion 
or  central  milestone  of  the  empire,  which  we  have 
already  described.  The  statues,  few  at  first,  were 
increased  by  later  emperors,  till  they  extended  along 
the  whole  length  of  the  forum.  Constantine's  own 
contribution  to  the  collection  was  a  tall  porphyry 
column  surmounted  by  a  bronze  image  which  had 
once  been  the  tutelary  Apollo  of  the  city  of  Hiera- 
polis,  but  was  turned  into  a  representation  of  the 
emperor  by  the  easy  method  of  knocking  off  its 
head  and  substituting  the  imperial  features.  It  was 
exactly  the  reverse  of  a  change  which  can  be  seen  at 


BUILDING   A    PALACE. 

{From  a  Byzantitu  MS.) 


ST.   SOPHIA,  27 

Rome,  where  the  popes  have  removed  the  head  of 
the  Emperor  Aureh"us,  and  turned  him  into  St.  Peter, 
on  the  column  in  the  Corso. 

North  of  the  Hippodrome  stood  the  great  church 
which  Constantine  erected  for  his  Christian  subjects, 
and  dedicated  to  the  Divine  Wisdom  [Hagia  Sophia). 
It  was  not  the  famous  domed  edifice  which  now 
bears  that  name,  but. an  earlier  and  humbler  building, 
probably  of  the  Basilica-shape  then  usual.  Burnt 
down  once  in  the  fifth  and  once  in  the  sixth  centuries, 
it  has  left  no  trace  of  its  original  character.  From 
the  west  door  of  St.  Sophia  a  wooden  gallery, 
supported  on  arches,  crossed  the  square,  and  finally 
ended  at  the  "  Royal  Gate  "  of  the  palace.  By  this 
the  emperor  would  betake  himself  to  divine  service 
vithout  having  to  cross  the  street  of  the  Chalcoprateia 
(brass  market),  which  lay  opposite  to  St.  Sophia. 
The  general  effect  of  the  gallery  must  have  been 
somewhat  like  that  of  the  curious  passage  perched 
aloft  on  arches  which  connects  the  Pitti  and  Uffizi 
palaces  at  Florence. 

The  edifices  which  we  have  described  formed  the 
heart  of  Constantinople.  Between  the  Palace,  the 
Hippodrome,  and  the  Cathedral  most  of  the  important 
events  in  the  history  of  the  city  took  place.  But  to 
north  and  west  the  city  extended  for  miles,  and  every- 
where there  were  buildings  of  note,  though  no  other 
cluster  could  vie  with  that  round  the  Augustaeum. 
The  Church  of  the  Holy  Apostles,  which  Constan- 
tine destined  as  the  burying-place  of  his  family,  was 
the  second  among  the  ecclesiastical  edifices  of  the 
town.      Of  the   outlying  civil  buildings,  the  public 


28        THE    FOUNDATION   OF    CONSTANTINOPLE, 

granaries  along  the  quays,  the  Golden  Gate,  by  which 
the  great  road  from  the  west  entered  the  walls,  and 
the  palace  of  the  praetorian  praefect,  who  acted  as 
governor  of  the  city,  must  all  have  been  well  worthy 
of  notice.  A  statue  of  Constantine  on  horseback, 
which  stood  by  the  last-named  edifice,  was  one  of  the 
chief  shows  of  Constantinople  down  to  the  end  of  the 


FIFTEENTH-CENTURY    DRAWING    OF   THE    EQUESTRIAN 
STATUE  OF   CONSTANTINE. 

Middle   Ages,  and   some   curious    legends   gathered 
around  it. 

It  was  in  A.D.  328  or  329 — the  exact  date  is  not 
easily  to  be  fixed — that  Constantine  had  definitely 
chosen  Byzantium  for  his  capital,  and  drawn  out  the 
plan  for  its  development.  As  early  as  May  11,  330, 
the  buildings  were  so  far  advanced  that  he  was  able 
to  hold  the  festival  which  celebrated  its  consecration. 


DEDICATION  FESTIVAL,  29 

Christian  bishops  blessed  the  partially  completed 
palace,  and  held  the  first  service  in  St,  Sophia  ;  for 
Constantine,  though  still  unbaptized  himself,  had 
determined  that  the  new  city  should  be  Christian 
from  the  first.  Of  paganism  there  was  no  trace  in 
it,  save  a  few  of  the  old  temples  of  the  Byzantines, 
spared  when  the  older  streets  were  levelled  to  clear 
the  ground  for  the  palace  and  adjoining  buildings. 
The  statues  of  the  gods  which  adorned  the  Baths  and 
Senate  House  stood  there  as  works  of  art,  not  as 
objects  of  worship. 

To  fill  the  vast  limits  of  his  city,  Constantine 
invited  many  senators  of  Old  Rome  and  many  rich 
provincial  proprietors  of  Greece  and  Asia  to  take  up 
their  abode  in  it,  granting  them  places  in  his  new 
senate  and  sites  for  the  dwellings  they  would  require. 
The  countless  officers  and  functionaries  of  the  im- 
perial court,  with  their  subordinates  and  slaves,  must 
have  composed  a  very  considerable  element  in  the 
new  population.  The  artizans  and  handicraftsmen 
were  enticed  in  thousands  by  the  offer  of  special 
privileges.  Merchants  •  and  seamen  had  always 
abounded  at  Byzantium,  and  now  flocked  in  num- 
bers which  made  the  old  commercial  prosperity  of 
the  city  seem  insignificant.  Most  effective — though 
most  demoralizing — of  the  gifts  which  Constantine 
bestowed  on  the  new  capital  to  attract  immigrants 
was  the  old  Roman  privilege  of  free  distribution  of 
corn  to  the  populace.  The  wheat-tribute  of  Egypt, 
which  had  previously  formed  part  of  the  public 
provision  of  Rome,  was  transferred  to  the  use  of 
Constantinople,  only  the  African  corn  from  Carthage 


30        THE   FOUNDATION    OF   CONSTANTINOPLE, 

being  for  the  future  assigned  for  the  subsistence  of 
the  older  city. 

On  the  completion  of  the  dedication  festival  in  330 
A.D.  an  imperial  edict  gave  the  city  the  title  of  New 
Rome,  and  the  record  was  placed  on  a  marble  tablet 
near  the  equestrian  statue  of  the  emperor,  opposite 
the  Strategion.  But  "  New  Rome "  was  a  phrase 
destined  to  subsist  in  poetry  and'  rhetoric  alone  :  the 
world  from  the  first  very  rightly  gave  the  city  the 
founder's  name  only,  and  persisted  in  calling  it  Con- 
stantinoplco 


III. 

THE    FIGHT   WITH   THE    GOTHS. 

CONSTANTINE  lived  seven  years  after  he  had  com- 
pleted the  dedication  of  his  new  city,  and  died  in 
peace  and  prosperity  on  the  22nd  of  May,  A.D.  337, 
received  on  his  death-bed  into  that  Christian  Church 
on  whose  verge  he  had  lingered  during  the  last  half 
of  his  life.  By  his  will  he  left  his  realm  to  be  divided 
among  his  sons  and  nephews  ;  but  a  rapid  succession 
of  murders  and  civil  wars  thinned  out  the  im.perial 
house,  and  ended  in  the  concentration  of  the  whole 
empire  from  the  Forth  to  the  Tigris  under  the  sceptre 
of  Constantius  II.,  the  second  son  of  the  great  emperor. 
The  Roman  world  was  not  yet  quite  ripe  for  a  perma- 
nent division  ;  it  was  still  possible  to  manage  it  from  a 
single  centre,  for  by  some  strange  chance  the  barbarian 
invasions  which  had  troubled  the  third  century  had 
ceased  for  a  time,  and  the  Romans  were  untroubled, 
save  by  some  minor  bickerings  on  the  Rhine  and  the 
Euphrates.  Constantius  II.,  an  administrator  of  some 
ability,  but  gloomy,  suspicious,  and  unsympathetic, 
was  able  to  devote  his  leisure  to  ecclesiastical  contro- 
versies, and  to  dish/^nour  himself  by  starting  the  first 


32  THE   FIGHT    WITH   THE   GOTHS. 

persecution  of  Christian  by  Christian  that  the  world 
had  seen.  The  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  empire  was 
not  destined  to  fall  in  his  day,  nor  in  the  short  reign 
of  his  cousin  and  successor,  Julian,  the  amiable  and 
cultured,  but  entirely  wrongheaded,  pagan  zealot, 
who  strove  to  put  back  the  clock  of  time  and  restore 
the  worship  of  the  ancient  gods  of  Greece.  Both 
Constantius  and  Julian,  if  asked  whence  danger  to  the 
empire  might  be  expected,  would  have  pointed  east- 
ward, to  the  Mesopotamian  frontier,  where  their  great 
enemy.  Sapor  King  of  Persia,  strove,  with  no  very 
great  success,  to  break  through  the  line  of  Roman 
fortresses  that  protected  Syria  and  Asia  Minor. 

But  it  was  not  in  the  east  that  the  impending  storm 
was  really  brewing.  It  was  from  the  north  that  mis- 
chief was  to  come. 

For  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  the  Romans  had 
been  well  acquainted  with  the  tribes  of  the  Goths,  the 
most  easterly  of  the  Teutonic  nations  who  lay  along 
the  imperial  border.  All  through  the  third  century 
they  had  been  molesting  the  provinces  of  the  Balkan 
Peninsula  by  their  incessant  raids,  as  we  have  already 
had  occasion  to  relate.  Only  after  a  hard  struggle 
had  they  been  rolled  back  across  the  Danube,  and 
compelled  to  limit  their  settlements  to  its  northern 
bank,  in  what  had  once  been  the  land  of  the  Dacians. 
The  last  struggle  with  them  had  been  in  the  time  of 
Constantine,  who,  in  a  war  that  lasted  from  A.D.  328 
to  A.D.  332,  had  beaten  them  in  the  open  field,  com- 
pelled their  king  to  give  his  sons  as  hostages,  and 
dictated  his  own  terms  of  peace.  Since  then  the 
appetite  of  the  Goths  for  war  and  adventure  seemed 


34  THE   FIGHT    WITH    THE    GOTHS, 

permanently  checked  :  for  forty  years  they  had  kept 
comparatively  quiet  and  seldom  indulged  in  raids  across 
the  Danube.  They  were  rapidly  settling  down  into 
steady  farmers  in  the  fertile  lands  on  the  Theiss  and 
the  Pruth  ;  they  traded  freely  with  the  Roman  towns 
of  Moesia  ;  many  of  their  young  warriors  enlisted 
among  the  Roman  auxiliary  troops,  and  one  consider- 
able body  of  Gothic  emigrants  had  been  permitted  to 
settle  as  subjects  of  the  empire  on  the  northern  slope 
of  the  Balkans.  By  this  time  many  of  the  Goths 
were  becoming  Christians  :  priests  of  their  own  blood 
already  ministered  to  them,  and  the  Bible,  translated 
into  their  own  language,  was  already  in  their  hands. 
One  of  the  earliest  Gothic  converts,  the  good  Bishop. 
Ulfilas — the  first  bishop  of  German  blood  that  was 
ever  consecrated — had  rendered  into  their  idiom  the 
New  Testament  and  most  of  the  Old.  A  great 
portion  of  his  work  ,5till  survives,  incomparably  the 
most  precious  relic  of  the  old  Teutonic  tongues  that 
we  now  possess. 

The  Goths  were  rapidly  losing  their  ancient  ferocity. 
Compared  to  the  barbarians  who  dwelt  be\ond  them, 
they  might  almost  he  called  a  civilized  race.  The 
Romans  were  beginning  to  look  upon  them  as  a 
guard  set  on  the  frontier  to  ward  off  the  wilder  peoples 
that  lay  to  their  north  and  east.  The  nation  was 
now  divided  into  two  tribes  :  the  Visigoths,  whose 
tribal  name  was  the  Thervings,  lay  more  to  the  south, 
in  what  are  now  the  countries  of  Moldavia,  Wallachia, 
and  Southern  Hungary  ;  the  Ostrogoths,  or  tribe  of 
the  Gruthungs,  lay  more  to  the  north  and  east,  in 
Bessarabia,  Transylvania,  and  the  Dniester  valley. 


THE   HUNS,  35 

But  a  totally  unexpected  series  of  events  were  now 
to  show  how  prescient  Constantine  had  been,  in  rear- 
ing his  great  fortress-capital  to  serve  as  the  central 
place  of  arms  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula. 

About  the  year  A.D.  372  the  Huns,  an  enormous 
Tartar  horde  from  beyond  the  Don  and  Volga,  burst* 
into  the  lands  north  of  the  Euxine,  and  began  to 
work  their  way  westward.  The  first  tribe  that  lay  in 
their  way,  the  nomadic  race  of  the  Alans,  they  almost 
exterminated.  Then  they  fell  upon  the  Goths.  The 
Ostrogoths  made  a  desperate  attempt  to  defend  the 
line  of  the  Dniester  against  the  oncoming  savages — 
"  men  with  faces  that  can  hardly  be  called  faces — 
rather  shapeless  black  collops  of  flesh  with  little  points 
instead  of  eyes  ;  little  in  stature,  but  lithe  and  active, 
skilful  in  riding,  broad  shouldered,  good  at  the  bow, 
stiff-necked  and  proud,  hiding  under  a  barely  human 
form  the  ferocity  of  the  wild  beast."  But  the  enemy 
whom  the  Gothic  historian  describes  in  these  unin- 
viting terms  was  too  strong  for  the  Teutons  of  the 
East.  The  Ostrogoths  were  crushed  and  compelled 
to  become  vassals  of  the  Huns,  save  a  remnant  who 
fought  their  way  southward  to  the  Wallachian  shore, 
near  the  marshes  of  the  Delta  of  the  Danube.  Then 
the  Huns  fell  on  the  Visigoths.  The  wave  of  invasion 
pressed  on  ;  the  Bug  and  the  Pruth  proved  no  barrier 
to  the  swarms  of  nomad  bowman,  and  the  Visigoths, 
under  their  Duke  Fritigern,  fell  back  in  dismay  with 
their  wives  and  children,  their  waggons  and  flocks 
and  herds,  till  they  found  themselves  with  their  backs 
to  the  Danube.  Surrender  to  the  enemy  was  more 
dreadful    to    the    Visigoths    than    to    their    eastern 


36  THE   FIGHT    WITH   THE   GOTHS. 

brethren  ;  they  were  more  civilized,  most  of  them  were 
Christians,  and  the  prospect  of  slavery  to  savages 
seems  to  have  appeared  intolerable  to  them. 

Pressed  against  the  Danube  and  the  Roman  border, 
the  Visigoths  sent  in  despair  to  ask  permission  to 
cross  from  the  Emperor.  A  contemporary  writer 
describes  how  they  stood.  "  All  the  multitude  that 
had  escaped  from  the  murderous  savagery  of  the 
Huns — no  less  than  200,000  fighting  men,  besides 
women  and  old  men  and  children — were  there  on  the 
river  bank,  stretching  out  their  hands  with  loud 
lamentations,  and  earnestly  supplicating  leave  to 
cross,  bewailing  their  calamity,  and  promising  that 
they  would  ever  faithfully  adhere  to  the  imperial 
alliance  if  only  the  boon  was  granted  them." 

At  this  moment  (A.D.  376)  the  Roman  Empire  was 
again  divided.  The  house  of  Constantine  was  gone, 
and  the  East  was  ruled  by  Valens,  a  stupid,  cowardly, 
and  avaricious  prince,  who  had  obtained  the  diadem 
and  half  the  Roman  world  only  because  he  was  the 
brother  of  Valentinian,  the  greatest  general  of  the 
day.  Valentinian  had  taken  the  West  for  his  portion, 
and  dwelt  in  his  camp  on  the  Rhine  and  Upper 
Danube,  while  Valens,  slothful  and  timid,  shut  him- 
self up  with  a  court  of  slaves  and  flatterers  in  the 
imperial  palace  at  Constantinople. 

The  proposal  of  the  Goths  filled  Valens  with 
dismay.  It  was  difficult  to  say  which  was  more 
dangerous — to  refuse  a  passage  to  200,000  desperate 
men  with  arms  in  their  hands  and  a  savage  foe  at 
their  backs,  or  to  admit  them  within  the  line  of  river 
and  fortress  that  protected  the  border,  with  an  implied 


VALENS   AND    THE   GOTHS,  37 

obligation  to  find  land  for  them.  After  much  doubt- 
ing he  chose  the  latter  alternative :  if  the  Goth^ 
would  give  hostages,  and  surrender  their  arms,  they 
should  be  ferried  across  the  Danube  and  permitted  to 
settle  as  subject-allies  within  the  empire. 

The  Goths  accepted  the  terms,  gave  up  the  sons  of 
their  chiefs  as  hostages,  and  streamed  across  the  river 
as  fast  as  the  Roman  Danube-flotilla  could  transport 
them.  But  no  sooner  had  they  reached  Moesia  than 
troubles  broke  out.  The  Roman  officials  at  first  tried 
to  disarm  the  immigrants,  but  the  Goths  were  un- 
willing to  surrender  their  weapons,  and  offered  large 
bribes  to  be  allowed  to  retain  them  ;  in  strict  dis- 
obedience to  the  E,mperor's  orders,  the  bribes  were 
accepted  and  the  Goths  retained  their  arms.  Further 
disputes  soon  broke  out.  The  provisions  of  Moesia 
did  not  suffice  for  so  many  hundred  thousand  mouths 
as  had  just  entered  its  border,  and  Valens  had 
ordered  stores  of  corn  from  Asia  to  be  collected  for 
the  use  of  the  Goths,  till  they  should  have  received 
and  commenced  to  cultivate  land  of  their  own.  But 
the  governor,  Lupicinus,  to  fill  his  own  pockets,  held 
back  the  food,  and  doled  out  what  he  chose  to  give 
at  exorbitant  prices.  In  sheer  hunger  the  Goths 
were  driven  to  barter  a  slave  for  a  single  loaf  of  bread 
and  ten  pounds  of  silver  for  a  sheep.  This  shameless 
extortion  continued  as  long  as  the  stores  and  the 
patience  of  the  Goths  lasted.  At  last  the  poorer 
immigrants  were  actually  beginning  to  sell  their  own 
children  for  slaves  rather  than  let  them  starve.  This 
drove  the  Goths  to  desperation,  and  a  chance  affray 
set  the  whole  nation  in  a  blaze.    Fritigern,  with  many 


38  THE   FIGHT    WITH    THE    GOTHS. 

of  his  nobles,  was  dining  with  Count  Lupicinus  at  the 
town  of  Marcianopolis,  when  some  starving  Goths 
tried  to  pillage  the  market  by  force.  A  party  of 
Roman  soldiers  strove  to  drive  them  off,  and  were  at 
once  mishandled  or  slain.  On  hearing  the  tumult 
and  learning  its  cause,  Lupicinus  recklessly  bade  his 
retinue  seize  and  slay  Fritigern  and  the  other  guests 
at  his  banquet.  The  Goths  drew  their  swords  and 
cut  their  way  out  of  the  palace.  Then  riding  to  the 
nearest  camp  of  his  followers,  Fritigern  told  his  tale, 
and  bade  them  take  up  arms  against  Rome. 

There  followed  a  year  of  desperate  fighting  all 
along  the  Danube,  and  the  northern  slope  of  the 
Balkans.  The  Goths  half-starved  for  many  months,  and 
smarting  under  the  extortion  and  chicanery  to  which 
they  had  been  subjected,  soon  showed  that  the  old 
barbarian  spirit  was  but  thinly  covered  by  the  veneer 
of  Christianity  and  civilization  vv'hich  they  had  ac- 
quired in  the  last  half-century.  The  struggle  resolved 
itself  into  a  repetition  of  the  great  raids  of  the  third 
century  :  towns  were  sacked  and  the  open  country 
harriod  in  the  old  style,  nor  was  the  war  rendered  less 
fierce  by  the  fact  that  many  runaway  slaves  and  other 
outcasts  among  the  provincial  population  joined  the 
invaders.  But  the  Roman  armies  still  retained  their 
old  reputation  ;  the  ravages  of  the  Goths  were 
checked  at  the  Balkans,  and  though  joined  by  the 
remnants  of  the  Ostrogoths  from  the  Danube  mouth, 
as  well  as  by  other  tribes  flying  from  the  Huns,  the 
Visigoths  were  at  first  held  at  bay  by  the  imperial 
armies.  A  desperate  pitched  battle  at  Ad  Salices, 
near  the  modern  Kustendje  thinned  the  ranks  of 
both  sides,  but  led  to  no  decisive  result. 


OUTBREAK   OF    WAR.  39 

Next  year,  however,  the  unwarhke  Emperor, 
driven  into  the  field  by  the  clamours  of  his  subjects, 
took  the  field  in  person,  with  great  reinforcements 
brought  from  Asia  Minor.  At  the  same  time  his 
nephew  Gratian,  a  gallant  young  prince  who  had  suc- 
ceeded to  the  Empire  of  the  West,  set  forth  through 
Pannonia  to  bring  aid  to  the  lands  of  the  Lower 
Danube. 

The  personal  intervention  of  Valens  in  the  struggle 
was  followed  by  a  fearful  disaster.  In  378  A.D.,  the 
main  body  of  the  Goths  succeeded  in  forcing  the  line 
of  the  Balkans  ;  they  were  not  far  from  Adrianople 
when  the  Emperor  started  to  attack  them,  with  a 
splendid  army  of  60,000  men.  Every  one  expected  to 
hear  of  a  victory,  for  the  reputation  of  invincibility 
still  clung  to  the  legions,  and  after  six  hundred  years 
of  war  the  disciplined  infantry  of  Rome,  robur  peditumy 
whose  day  had  lasted  since  the  Punic  wars,  were  still 
reckoned  superior,  when  fairly  handled,  to  any  amount 
of  wild  barbarians. 

But  a  new  chapter  of  the  history  of  the  art  of  war 
was  just  commencing  ;  during  their  sojourn  in  the 
plains  of  South  Russia  and  Roumania  the  Goths  had 
taken,  first  of  all  German  races,  to  fighting  on  horse-  ^ 
back.  Dwelling  in  the  Ukraine  they  had  felt  the 
influence  of  that  land,  ever  the  nurse  of  cavalry  from 
the  day  of  the  Scythian  to  that  of  the  Tartar  and 
Cossack.  They  had  come  to  "  consider  it  more 
honourable  to  fight  on  horse  than  on  foot,"  and  every 
chief  was  followed  by  his  war-band  of  mounted  men. 
Driven  against  their  will  into  conflict  with  the  empire^ 
they  found  themselves  face  to  face  into  the  army  that 


40  THE   FIGHT    WITH    THE   GOTHS. 

had  so  long  held  the  world  in  fear,  and  had  turned 
back  their  own  ancestors  in  rout  three  generations 
before 

Valens  found  the  main  body  of  the  Goths  encamped 
in  a  great  "laager,"  on  the  plain  north  of  Adrianople. 
After  some  abortive  negotiations  he  developed  an 
attack  on  their  front,  when  suddenly  a  great  body  of 
horsemen  charged  in  on  the  Roman  flank.  It  was 
the  main  strength  of  the  Gothic  cavalry,  which  had 
been  foraging  at  a  distance  ;  receiving  news  of  the 
fight  it  had  ridden  straight  for  the  battle  field.  Some 
Roman  squadrons  which  covered  the  left  flank  of  the 
Emperor's  army  were  ridden  down  and  trampled 
under  foot.  Then  the  Goths  swept  down  on  the 
infantry  of  the  left  wing,  rolled  it  up,  and  drove  it  in 
upon  the  centre.  So  tremendous  was  their  impact 
that  legions  and  cohorts  were  pushed  together  in 
hopeless  confusion.  Every  attempt  to  stand  firm 
failed,  and  in  a  few  minutes  left,  centre,  and  reserve, 
were  one  undistinguishable  mass.  Imperial  guards, 
light  troops,  lancers,  auxiliaries,  and  infantry  of  the 
line  were  wedged  together  in  a  press  that  grew  closer 
every  moment.  The  Roman  cavalry  saw  that  the 
day  was  lost,  and  rode  ofT  without  another  effort. 
Then  the  abandoned  infantry  realized  the  horror  of 
their  position  :  equally  unable  to  deploy  or  to  fly, 
they  had  to  stand  to  be  cut  down.  Men  could  not 
raise  their  arms  to  strike  a  blow,  so  closely  were  they 
packed  ;  spears  snapped  right  and  left,  their  bearers 
being  unable  to  lift  them  to  a  vertical  position  ;  many 
soldiers  were  stifled  in  the  press.  Into  this  quivering 
mass  the  Goths  rode,  plying  lance  and  sword  against 


THE  BATTLE   OF  ADRIANOPLE,  41 

the  helpless  enemy.  It  was  not  till  forty  thousand  men 
had  fallen  that  the  thinning  of  the  ranks  enabled  the 
survivors  to  break  out  and  follow  their  cavalry  in  a 
headlong  flight.  They  left  behind  them,  dead  on  the 
field,  the  Emperor,  the  Grand  Masters  of  the  Infantry 
and  Cavalry,  the  Count  of  the  Palace,  and  thirty-five 
commanders  of  different  corps. 

The  battle  of  Adrianople  was  the  most  fearful 
defeat  suffered  by  a  Roman  army  since  Cannae,  a 
slaughter  to  which  it  is  aptly  compared  by  the  con- 
temporary historian  Ammianus  Marcellinus.  The 
army  of  the  East  was  almost  annihilated,  and  was 
never  reorganized  again  on  the  old  Roman  lines. 

This  awful  catastrophe  brought  down  on  Constanti- 
nople the  first  attack  which  it  experienced  since  it 
had  changed  its  name  from  Byzantium.  After  a  vain 
assault  on  Adrianople,  the  victorious  Goths  pressed 
rapidly  on  towards  the  imperial  city.  Harrying  the 
whole  country  side  as  they  passed  by,  they  presented 
themselves  before  the  "  Golden  Gate,"  its  south- 
western exit.  But  the  attack  was  destined  to  come 
to  nothing  :  "  their  courage  failed  them  when  they 
looked  on  the  vast  circuit  of  walls  and  the  enormous 
extent  of  streets ;  all  that  mass  of  riches  within 
appeared  inaccessible  to  them.  They  cast  away  the 
siege  machines  which  they  had  prepared,  and  rolled 
backward  on  to  Thrace." ^  Beyond  skirmishing  under 
the  walls  with  a  body  of  Saracen  cavalry  which  had 
been  brought  up  to  strengthen  the  garrison,  they 
made  no  hostile  attempt  on  the  city.  So  forty  years 
after  his  death,  Constantine's  prescience  was  for  the 

*  Ammianus  Marcellinus. 


42  THE   FIGHT    WITH   THE   GOTHS, 

first  time  justified.  He  was  right  in  believing  that  an 
impregnable  city  on  the  Bosphorus  would  prove  the 
salvation  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  even  if  all  its  open 
country  were  overrun  by  the  invader. 

The  unlucky  Valens  was  succeeded  on  the  throne 
by  Theodosius,  a  wise  and  virtuous  prince,  who  set 
himself  to  repair,  by  caution  and  courage  combined, 
the  disaster  that  had  shaken  the  Roman  power  in  the 
Danube  lands.  With  the  remnants  of  the  army  of 
the  East  he  made  head  against  the  barbarians  ;  with- 
out venturing  to  attack  their  main  body,  he  destroyed 
many  marauders  and  scattered  bands,  and  made  the 
continuance  of  the  war  profitless  to  them.  If  they 
dispersed  to  plunder  they  were  cut  off;  if  they  held 
together  in  masses  they  starved.  Presently  Fritigern 
died,  and  Theodosius  made  peace  with  his  successor 
Athanarich,  a  king  who  had  lately  come  over  the 
Danube  at  the  head  of  a  new  swarm  of  Goths  from 
the  Carpathian  country.  Theodosius  frankly  promised 
and  faithfully  observed  the  terms  that  Fritigern  had 
asked  of  Valens  ten  years  before.  He  granted  the 
Goths  land  for  their  settlement  in  the  Thracian 
province  which  they  had  wasted,  and  enlisted  in  his 
armies  all  the  chiefs  and  their  war-bands.  Within 
ten  years  after  the  fight  of  Adrianople  he  had  forty 
thousand  Teutonic  horsemen  in  his  service ;  they 
formed  the  best  and  most  formidable  part  of  his  host, 
and  were  granted  a  higher  pay  than  the  native 
Roman  soldiery.  The  immediate  military  results  of 
the  policy  of  Theodosius  were  not  unsatisfactory  ;  it 
was  his  Gothic  auxiliaries  who  won  for  him  his  two 
great  victories  over  the  legions  of  the  West,  when  in 


44  iHE   FIGHT    WITH    THE   GOTHS. 

A.D.  385  he  conquered  the  rebel  Magnus  Maximus, 
and  in  A.D.  394  the  rebel  Eugenius. 

But  from  the  political  side  the  experinnent  of 
Theodosius  was  fraught  with  the  greatest  danger  that 
the  Roman  Empire  had  yet  known.  When  barbarian 
auxiliaries  had  been  enlisted  before,  they  had  been 
placed  under  Roman  leaders  and  mixed  with  equal 
numbers  of  Roman  troops.  To  leave  them  under 
their  own  chiefs,  and  deliberately  favour  them  at  the 
expense  of  the  native  soldiery,  was  a  most  unhappy 
experiment.  It  practically  put  the  command  of  the 
empire  in  their  hands  ;  for  there  was  no  hold  over  them 
save  their  personal  loyalty  to  Theodosius,  and  the 
spell  which  the  grandeur  of  the  Roman  name  and 
Roman  culture  still  exercised  over  their  minds.  That 
spell  was  still  strong,  as  is  shown  in  the  story  which 
the  Gothic  historian  Jornandes  tells  about  the  visit 
of  the  old  King  Athanarich  to  Constantinople. 
"  When  he  entered  the  royal  city,  *  Now,'  said  he, 
*do  I  at  last  behold  what  I  had  often  heard  and 
deemed  incredible.'  He  passed  his  eyes  hither  and 
thither  admiring  first  the  site  of  the  city,  then  the 
fleets  of  corn-ships,  then  the  lofty  walls,  then  the 
crowds  of  people  of  all  nations,  mingled  as  the  waters 
from  divers  springs  mix  in  a  single  pool,  then  the 
ranks  of  disciplined  soldiery.  And  at  last  he  cried 
aloud,  '  Doubtless  the  Emperor  is  as  a  god  on  earth, 
and  he  who  raises  a  hand  against  him  is  guilty  of  his 
own  blood.'  "  But  this  impression  was  not  to  con- 
tinue for  long.  In  A.D.  395,  the  good  Emperor 
Theodosius,  "  the  lover  of  peace  and  of  the  Goths," 
as  he  was  called,  died,  and  left  the  throne  to  his  two 
weakly  sons  Arcadius  and  Honorius. 


.IV. 

THE   DEPARTURE   OF  THE  GERMANS. 

A/ 

The  Roman  Empire,  at  the  end  of  the  fourth 
century,  was  in  a  condition  which  made  the  experi- 
ment of  Theodosius  particularly  dangerous.  The 
government  was  highly  centralized  and  bureaucratic  ; 
hosts  of  officials,  appointed  directly  from  Constanti- 
nople, administered  every  provincial  post  from  the 
greatest  to  the  least.  There  was  little  local  self- 
government  and  no  local  patriotism.  The  civil 
population  was  looked  on  by  the  bureaucratic  caste 
as  a  multitude  without  rights  or  capacities,  existing 
solely  for  the  purpose  of  paying  taxes.  So  strongly 
was  this  view  held,  that  to  prevent  the  revenue  frorn 
suffering,  the  land-holding  classes,  from  the  curialis, 
or  local  magnate,  down  to  the  poorest  peasant,  were 
actually  forbidden  to  move  from  one  district  to 
another  without  special  permission.  A  landowner 
was  even  prohibited  from  enlisting  in  the  army,  unless 
he  could  show  that  he  left  an  heir  behind  him  capable 
of  paying  his  share  in  the  local  rates.  An  almost 
entire  separation  existed  between  the  civil  population 
and  the  military  caste  ;  it  was  hard  for  a  civilian  of 
any  position  to  enlist ;  only  the  lower  classes — who 


46  THE   DEPARTURE    OF   THE   GERMANS. 

were  of  no  account  in  tax-paying — were  suffered  to 
join  the  army.  On  the  other  hand,  every  pressure 
was  used  to  make  the  sons  of  soldiers  continue  in  the 
service.  Thus  had  arisen  a  purely  professional  army, 
which  had  no  sympathy  or  connection  with  the 
unarmed  provincials  whom  it  protected. 

The  army  had  been  a  source  of  unending  trouble  in 
the  third  century  ;  for  a  hundred  years  it  had  made 
and  unmade  Caesars  at  its  pleasure.  That  was  while 
it  was  still  mainly  composed  of  men  born  within  the 
empire,  and  officered  by  Romans. 

But  Theodosius  had  now  swamped  the  native 
element  in  the  army  by  his  wholesale  enlistment  of 
;othic  war-bands.  And  he  had,  moreover,  handed 
.nany  of  the  chief  military  posts  to  Teutons.  Some 
of  them  indeed  had  married  Roman  wives  and  taken 
kindly  to  Roman  modes  of  life,  while  nearly  all  had 
professed  Christianity.  But  at  the  best  they  were 
military  adventurers  of  alien  blood,  while  at  the 
worst  they  were  liable  to  relapse  into  barbarism,  cast 
all  their  loyalty  and  civilization  to  the  winds,  and 
take  to  harrying  the  empire  again  in  the  old  fearless 
fashion  of  the  third  century.  Clearly  nothing  could 
be  more  dangerous  than  to  hand  over  the  protection 
of  the  timid  and  unarmed  civil  population  to  such 
guardians.  The  contempt  they  must  have  felt  for  the 
unwarlike  provincials  was  so  great,  and  the  tempta- 
tion to  plunder  the  wealthy  cities  of  the  empire  so 
constant  and  pressing,  that  it  is  no  wonder  if  the 
Teutons  yielded.  Caesar- making  seemed  as  easy 
to  the  leaders  as  the  sack  of  provincial  churches  and 
treasuries  did  to  the  rank  and  file. 


STILICHO. 


47 


When  the  personal  ascendency  of  Theodosius  was 
/emoved,  the  empire  fell  at  once  into  the  troubles 
which  were  inevitable.  Both  at  the  court  of  Arcadius, 
who  reigned  at  Constantinople,  and  at  that  of 
Honorius,  who  had  received  the  West  as  his  share,  a 
war  of  factions  commenced  between  the  German  and 
the  Roman  party.  Theodosius  had  distributed  so  many 
high  military  posts  to  Goths  and  other  Teutons,  that 
this  influence  was  almost  unbounded.  Stilicho 
Magister  militiim  (commander-in-chief)  of  the  armies 
of  Italy  was  predominant  at  the  council  board  of 
Honorius  ;  though  he  was  a  pure  barbarian  by 
blood,  Theodosius  had  married  him  to  his  own  niece 
Serena,  and  left  him  practically  supreme  in  the  West, 
for  the  young  emperor  was  aged  only  eleven.  In  the 
East  Arcadius,  the  elder  brother,  had  attained  his 
eighteenth  year,  and  might  have  ruled  his  own  realm 
had  he  possessed  the  energy.  But  he  was  a  witless 
young  man,  "  short,  thin,  and  sallow,  so  inactive  that 
he  seldom  spoke,  and  always  looked  as  if  he  was 
about  to  fall  asleep."  His  prime  minister  was  a 
Western  Roman  named  Rufinus,  but  before  the  first 
year  of  his  reign  was  over,  a  Gothic  captain  named 
Gainas  slew  Rufinus  at  a  review,  before  the  Emperor's 
very  eyes.  The  weak  Arcadius  was  then  compelled 
to  make  the  eunuch  Eutropius  his  minister,  and  to 
appoint  Gainas  Magister  militiim  for  the  East. 

Gainas  and  Stilicho  contented  themselves  with 
wire-pulling  at  Court ;  but  another  Teutonic  leader 
thought  that  the  time  had  come  for  bolder  work, 
Alaric  was  a  chief  sprung  from  the  family  of  the 
Baits,  whom  the  Goths  reckoned   next  to  the  god- 


48  THE   DEPARTURE   OF   THE   GERMANS. 

descended  Amals  among  their  princely  houses.  He 
was  young,  daring,  and  untameable ;  several  years 
spent  at  Constantinople  had  failed  to  civilize  him, 
but  had  succeeded  in  filling  him  with  contempt  for 
Roman  effeminacy.  Soon  after  the  death  of  Theo- 
dosius,  he  raised  the  Visigoths  in  revolt,  making  it  his 
pretext  that  the  advisers  of  Arcadius  were  refusing 
the/oederati,  or  auxiliaries,  certain  arrears  of  pay.  The 
Teutonic  sojourners  in  Moesiaand  Thrace  joined  him 
almost  to  a  man,  and  the  Constantinopolitan  govern- 
ment found  itself  with  only  a  shadow  of  an  army  to 
oppose  the  rebels.  Alaric  wandered  far  and  wide, 
from  the  Danube  to  the  gates  of  Constantinople,  and 
from  Constantinople  to  Greece,  ransoming  or  sacking 
every  town  in  his  way  till  the  Goths  were  gorged  with 
plunder.  No  one  withstood  him  save  Stilicho,  who  was 
summoned  from  the  West  to  aid  his  master's  brother. 
By  skilful  manoeuvres  Stilicho  blockaded  Alaric  in  a 
mountain  position  in  Arcadia  ;  but  when  he  had  him 
at  his  mercy,  it  was  found  that  "  dog  does  not  eat 
dog."  The  Teutonic  prime  minister  let  the  Teutonic 
rebel  escape  him,  and  the  Visigoths  rolled  north  again 
into  Illyricum.  Sated  with  plunder,  Alaric  then  con- 
sented to  grant  Arcadius  peace,  on  condition  that  he 
was  made  a  MagisterviiliUun  like  Stilicho  and  Gainas, 
and  granted  as  much  land  for  his  tribesmen  as  he 
chose  to  ask.  [a.D.  396.] 

For  the  next  five  years  Alaric,  now  proclaimed 
King  of  the  Goths  by  his  victorious  soldiery,  reigned 
with  undisputed  sway  over  the  eastern  parts  of  the 
Balkan  Peninsula,  paying  only  a  shadow  oi  homage 
to   the    royal    phantom    at    Constantinople.      There 


ALARTC   THE   GOTII.  49 

appeared  every  reason  to  believe  that  a  German 
kingdom  was  about  to  be  permanently  established  in 
the  lands  south  and  west  of  the  Danube.  The  fate 
which  actually  befell  Gaul,  Spain,  and  Britain,  a  few 
years  later  seemed  destined  for  Moesia  and  Macedonia. 
How  different  the  history  of  Europe  would  have 
been  if  the  Germans  had  settled  down  in  Servia  and 
Bulgaria  we  need  hardly  point  out. 

But  another  series  of  events  was  impending.  In 
A.D.  401,  Alaric,  instead  of  resuming  his  attacks  on 
Constantinople,  suddenly  declared  war  on  the 
Western  Emperor  Honorius.  He  marched  round  the 
head  of  the  Adriatic  and  invaded  Northern  Italy. 
The  half-Romanized  Stilicho,  who  wished  to  keep 
the  rule  of  the  West  to'  himself,  fought  hard  to  turn 
the  Goths  out  of  Italy,  and  beat  back  Alaric's  first 
invasion.  But  then  the  young  emperor,  who  was  as 
weak  and  more  worthless  than  his  brother  Arcadius, 
slew  the  great  minister  on  a  charge  of  treason.  When 
Stilicho  was  gone,  Alaric  had  everything  his  own 
way  ;  he  moved  with  the  whole  Visigothic  race  into 
Italy,  where  he  ranged  about  at  his  will,  ransoming 
and  plundering  every  town  from  Rome  downwards. 
The  Visigoths  are  heard  of  no  more  in  the  Balkan 
Peninsula  ;  they  now  pass  into  the  history  of  Italy  and 
then  into  that  of  Spain. 

While  Alaric's  eyes  were  turned  on  Italy,  but 
before  he  had  actually  come  into  conflict  with  Sti- 
licho, the  Court  of  Constantinople  had  been  the 
seat  of  grave  troubles.  Gainas  the  Gothic  Magister 
militum  of  the  East,  and  his  creature,  the  eunuch 
Eutropius,  had  fallen  out,  and  the  man  of  war  had  no 


50  THE    DEPARTURE    OF    THE    GERMANS, 

difficulty  in  disposing  of  the  wretched  harem-bred 
Grand  Chamberlain.  Insti^^^ated  by  Gainas,  the  Ger- 
man mercenaries  in  the  army  of  Asia  started  an 
insurrection  under  a  certain  Tribigild.  Gainas  was 
told  to  march  against  them,  and  collected  troops 
ostensibly  for  that  purpose.  But  when  he  was  at  the 
head  of  a  considerable  army,  he  did  not  attack  the 
rebels,  but  sent  a  message  to  Constantinople  bidding 
Arcadius  give  up  to  him  the  obnoxious  Grand 
Chamberlain.  Eutropius,  hearing  of  his  danger,  threw 
himself  on  the  protection  of  the  Church  :  he  fled  into 
the  Cathedral  of  St.  Sophia  and  clung  to  the  altar. 
John  Chrysostom,  the  intrepid  Patriarch  of  Constan- 
tinople, forbade  the  soldiers  to  enter  the  church,  and 
protected  the  fugitive  for  some  days.  One  of  the 
most  striking  incidents  in  the  history  of  St.  Sophia 
followed  :  while  the  cowering  Chamberlain  lay  before 
the  altar,  John  preached  to  a  crowded  congregation 
a  sermon  on  the  text,  "  Vanity  o{  vanities,  all  is 
vanity,"  emphasizing  every  period  of  his  harangue 
by  pointing  to  the  fallen  Eutropius — prime  minister  of 
the  empire  yesterda}-,  and  a  hunted  criminal  to-day. 
The  patriarch  extorted  a  promise  that  the  eunuch's 
life  should  be  spared,  and  Eutropius  gave  himself  up. 
Arcadius  banished  him  to  Cyprus,  but  the  inexorable 
Gainas  was  not  contented  with  his  rival's  removal  ;  he 
had  Eutropius  brought  back  to  Constantinople  and 
beheaded. 

The  Magister  milituDi  now  brought  his  army  over 
to  Constantinople,  and  quartered  it  there  to  overawe 
the  emperor.  It  appeared  quite  likely  that  ere  long 
the  Germans  would  sack  the  city  ;  but  the   fate  tliat 


GAINAS   SLAIN.  51 

befell  Rome  ten  years  later  was  not  destined  for  Con- 
stantinople. A  mere  chance  brawl  put  the  domina- 
tion of  Gainas  to  a  sudden  end.  He  himself  and 
many  of  his  troops  were  outside  the  city,  when  a 
sudden  quarrel  at  one  of  the  gates  between  a  band  of 
Goths  and  some  riotous  citizens  brought  about  a 
general  outbreak  against  the  Germans.  The  Con- 
stantinopolitan  mob  showed  itself  more  courageous 
and  not  less  unruly  than  the  Roman  mob  of  elder 
days.  The  whole  po})ulation  turned  out  with  extem- 
porized arms  and  attacked  the  German  soldiery. 
The  gates  were  closed  to  prevent  Gainas  and  his 
troops  from  outside  returning,  and  a  desperate  street- 
fight  ranged  over  the  entire  city.  Isolated  bodies  of  the 
Germans  were  cut  off  one  by  one,  and  at  last  their 
barracks  were  surrounded  and  set  on  fire.  The  rioters 
had  the  upper  hand  ;  seven  thousand  soldiers  fell,  and 
the  remnant  thought  themselves  lucky  to  escape. 
Gainas  at  once  declared  open  war  on  the  empire, 
but  he  had  not  the  genius  of  Alaric,  nor  the  numerical 
strength  that  had  followed  the  younger  chief.  He 
"was  beaten  in  the  field  and  forced  to  fly  across  the 
Danube,  where  he  was  caught  and  beheaded  by 
Uldes,  King  of  the  Huns.  Curiously  enough  the 
officer  who  defeated  Gainas  was  himself  not  only  a 
Goth  but  a  heathen  :  he  was  named  Fravitta  and  had 
been  the  sworn  guest- friend  of  Theodosius,  whose 
son  he  faithfully  defended  even  against  the  assault  of 
his  own  countrymen.  [a.D.  401.] 

The  departure  of  Alaric  and  the  death  of  Gainas 
freed  the  Eastern  Romans  from  the  double  danger 
that   has    impended  over.  them.     They  were  neither 


52     THE  DEPARTURE   OF   THE   GERMANS, 

to  see  an  independent  German  kingdom  on  the 
Danube  and  Morava,  nor  to  remain  under  the  rule  of  a 
semi-civilized  German  Magister  militum^  making  and 
unmaking  ministers,  and  perhaps  Caesars,  at  his  good 
pleasure.  The  weak  Arcadius  was  enabled  to  spend 
the  remaining  seven  years  of  his  life  in  comparative 
peace  and  quiet.  His  court  was  only  troubled  by 
an  open  war  between  his  spouse,  the  Empress  ^lia 
Eudoxia,  and  John  Chrysostom,  the  Patriarch  of 
Constantinople.  John  was  a  man  of  saintly  life  and 
apostolic  fervour,  but  rash  and  inconsiderate  alike  in 
speech  and  action.  His  charity  and  eloquence  made 
him  the  idol  of  the  populace  of  the  imperial  city,  but 
his  austere  manners  and  autocratic  methods  of  dealing 
with  his  subordinates  had  made  him  many  foes  among 
the  clergy.  The  patriarch's  enemies  were  secretly 
supported  by  the  empress,  who  had  taken  offence  at 
the  outspoken  way  in  which  John  habitually  denounced 
the  luxury  and  insolence  of  her  court.  She  favoured 
the  intrigues  of  Theophilus,  Patriarch  of  Alexandria, 
against  his  brother  prelate,  backed  the  Asiatic  clergy 
in  their  complaints  about  John's  oppression  of  them, 
and  at  last  induced  the  Emperor  to  allow  the  saintly 
patriarch  to  be  deposed  by  a  hastily-summoned 
council,  the  "  Synod  of  the  Oak  "  held  outside  the 
city.  The  populace  rose  at  once  to  defend  their 
])astor;  riots  broke  out,  Theophilus  was  chased  back 
to  Egypt,  and  the  Emperor,  terrified  by  an  earthquake 
which  seemed  to  manifest  the  wrath  of  heaven, 
restored  John  to  his  place. 

Next  year,  however,  the  war  between  the  empress 
and  the  patriarch  broke  out  again.     John   took  the 


EXILE   OF  CHRYSOSTOM.  53 

occasion  of  the  erection  of  a  statue  of  Eudoxia  in 
the  Augustaeum  to  recommence  his  polemics.  Some 
obsolete  semi-pagan  ceremonies  at  its  dedication 
roused  his  wrath,  and  he  delivered  a  scathing  sermon 
in  which — if  his  enemies  are  to  be  believed — he  com- 
pared the  empress  to  Herodias,  and  himself  to  John 
the  Baptist.  The  Emperor,  at  his  wife's  demand, 
summoned  another  council,  which  condemned 
Chrysostom,  and  on  Easter  Day,  A.D.  404,  seized  the 
patriarch  in  his  cathedral  by  armed  force,  and 
banished  him  to  Asia.  That  night  a  fire,  probably 
kindled  by  the  angry  adherents  of  Chrysostom, 
broke  out  in  St.  Sophia,  which  was  burnt  to  the 
ground.  From  thence  it  spread  to  the  neighbouring 
buildings,  and  finally  to  the  Senate-house,  which  was 
consumed  with  all  the  treasures  of  ancient  Greek  art 
of  which  Constantine  had  made  it  the  repository. 

Meanwhile  the  exiled  John  was  banished  to  a 
dreary  mountain  fastness  in  Cappadocia,  and  after- 
wards condemned  to  a  still  more  remote  prison  at 
Pityus  on  the  Euxine.  He  died  on  his  way  thither, 
leaving  a  wonderful  reputation  for  patience  and  cheer- 
fulness under  affliction.  This  fifth-century  Becket 
was  well-nigh  the  only  patriarch  of  Constantinople 
who  ever  fell  out  with  the  imperial  Court  on  a  question 
of  morals  as  distinguished  from  dogma.  Chrysostom's 
quarrel  was  with  the  luxury,  insolence,  and  frivolity  of 
the  Empress  and  her  Court ;  no  real  ecelesiastical 
question  was  involved  in  his  deposition,  for  the 
charges  against  him  were  mere  pretexts  to  cover  the 
hatred  of  his  disloyal  clergy  and  the  revenge  of  the 
insulted  Aelia  Eudoxia.   [a.d.  407.] 


V. 


THE  REORGANIZATION   OF  THE   EASIERN   EMPIRR 


(A.D.   408-518.) 


The  feeble  and  inert  Arcadius  died  in  A.D.  408,  at 
the  early  age  of  thirty-one  ;  his  imperious  consort  had 
preceded  him  to  the  grave,  and  the  empire  of  the 
East  was  left  to  Theodosius  II.,  a  child  of  seven  years, 
their  only  son.  There  was  hardly  an  instance  in 
Roman  history  of  a  minor  succeeding  quietly  to  his 
father's  throne.  An  ambitious  relative  or  a  disloyal 
general  had  habitually  supplanted  the  helpless  heir. 
But  the  ministers  of  Arcadius  were  exceptionally 
virtuous  or  exceptionally  destitute  of  ambition.  The 
little  emperor  was  duly  crowned,  and  the  administra- 
tion of  the  East  undertaken  in  his  name  by  the  able 
Anthemius,  who  held  the  office  of  Praetorian  Praefect. 
History  relates  nothing  but  good  of  this  minister  ;  he 
made  a  wise  commercial  treaty  with  the  king  of  Persia ; 
he  repelled  with  ease  a  Hunnish  invasion  of  Moesia  ; 
he  built  a  flotilla  on  the  Danube,  where  Roman  war- 
ships had  not  been  seen  since  the  death  of  Valens, 
forty  years  before  ;  he   reorganized  the  corn   supply 


YOUTH   OF    THEODOSIUS   II.  55 

of  Constantinople  ;  and  did  much  to  get  back  into 
order  and  cultivation  the  desolated  north-western 
lands  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  from  which  Alaric 
and  his  Visigothic  hordes  had  now  taken  their  final 
departure.  The  empire  was  still  more  indebted  to 
him  for  bringing"  up  the  young  Theodosius  as  an 
honest  and  god-fearing  man.  The  palace  under 
Anthemius'  rule  was  the  school  of  the  virtues:  the 
lives  of  the  emperor  and  his  three  sisters,  Pulcheria, 
Arcadia,  and  Marina,  were  the  model  and  the  marvel 
of  their  subjects.  Theodosius  inherited  the  piety 
and  honesty  of  his  grandfather  and  namesake,  but 
was  a  3-outh  of  slender  capacity,  though  he  took 
some  interest  in  literature,  and  was  renowned  for  his 
beautiful  penmanship„  His  eldest  sister,  Pulcheria, 
was  the  ruling  spirit  of  the  family,  and  possessed 
unlimited  influence  over  him,  though  she  was  but  two 
years  his  senior.  When  Anthem.ius  died  in  A.D. 
414,  she  took  the  title  of  Augusta,  and  assum.ed  the 
regency  of  the'  East.  Pulcheria  was  an  extraordinary 
woman  :  on  gathering  up  the  reins  of  power  she  took 
a  vow  of  chastity,  and  lived  as  a  crowned  nun  for 
thirty-six  years  ;  her  fear  had  been  that,  if  she  married, 
her  husband  might  cherish  ambitious  schemes  against 
her  brother's  crown  ;  she  therefore  kept  single  herself 
and  persuaded  her  sisters  to  make  a  similar  vow. 
Austere,  indefatigable,  and  unselfish,  she  proved  equal 
to  ruling  the  realms  of  the  East  with  success,  though 
no  woman  had  ever  made  the  attempt  before. 

When  Theodosius  came  of  age  he  refused  to  re- 
niove  his  sister  from  power,  and  treated  her  as  his 
colleague  and  equal.    By  her  advice  he  married  in  A.D. 


56  REORGANIZATION    OF   THE   EASTERN   EMPIRE. 

421,  the  year  that  he  came  of  age,  the  beautiful  and 
accomph'shed  Athenais,  daughter  of  the  philosopher 
Leontius.  The  emperor's  chosen  spouse  had  been 
brought  up  as  a  pagan,  but  was  converted  before  her 
marriage,  and  baptized  by  the  name  of  Eudocia. 
She  displayed  her  literary  tastes  in  writing  religious 
poetry,  which  had  some  merit,  according  to  the  critics 
of  the  succeeding  age.  The  austere  Pulcheria — always 
immersed  in  state  business  or  occupied  in  religious 
observances — found  herself  ere  long  ill  at  ease  in  the 
company  of  the  lively,  beautiful,  and  volatile  literary 
lady  whom  she  had  chosen  as  sister-in-law.  If 
Theodosius  had  been  less  easy-going  and  good- 
hearted  he  must  have  sent  away  either  his  sister 
or  his  wife,  but  he  long  contrived  to  dwell  affec- 
tionately with  both,  though  their  bickerings  were  un- 
ending. After  many  years  of  married  life,  however, 
a  final  quarrel  came,  and  the  empress  retired  to  spend 
the  last  years  of  her  life  in  seclusion  at  Jerusalem. 
The  cause  of  her  exile  is  not  really  known  :  we  have 
only  a  wild  story  concerning  it,  which  finds  an  exact 
parallel  in  one  of  the  tales  of  the  "  Arabian  Nights." 

**  The  emperor,"  so  runs  the  tale,  "was  one  day  met  by  a  peasant 
who  presented  him  with  a  Phrygian  apple  of  enormous  size,  so  that 
the  whole  Court  marvelled  at  it.  And  he  gave  the  man  a  hundred  and 
fifty  gold  pieces  in  reward,  and  sent  the  apple  to  the  Empress  Eudocia. 
But  she  sent  it  as  a  present  to  Paulinus,  the  '  Master  of  the  Offices,' 
because  he  was  a  friend  of  the  emperor.  But  Paulinus,  not  knowing 
the  history  of  the  apple,  took  it  and  gave  it  to  the  emperor  as  he 
reentered  the  Palace.  And  Theodosius  having  received  it,  recognized 
it  and  concealed  it,  and  called  his  wife  and  questioned  her,  saying, 
•Where  is  the  apple  that  I  sent  you?'  She  answered,  '  I  have  eaten 
it.'  Then  he  bade  her  swear  by  his  salvation  the  truth,  wliether  she 
had  eaten  it  or  sent  it  to  sopie  one.     And  Eudocia  swore  that  she  had 


EXILE    OF  EUDOCIA.  57 

3ent  it  to  no  man,  but  had  herself  eaten  it.  Then  the  emperor  showed 
her  the  apple,  and  was  exceedingly  wrath,  suspecting  that  she  was 
enamoured  of  Paulinus,  and  had  sent  it  to  him  as  a  love-gift ;  for  he 
was  a  very  handsome  man.  And  on  this  account  he  put  Paulinus  to 
death,  but  he  permitted  Eudocia  to  go  to  the  Holy  Places  to  pray. 
And  she  went  down  from  Constantinople  to  Jerusalem,  and  dwelt  there 
all  her  days." 

That  Paulinus  was  executed,  and  that  Eudocia 
spent  her  last  years  of  retirement  in  Palestine,  we 
know  for  certain.  All  the  rest  of  the  story  is  in 
reality  hidden  from  us.  The  chief  improbability  of 
the  tale  is  that  Eudocia  had  reached  the  age  of  forty 
when  the  breach  between  her  and  her  husband  took 
place,  and  that  Paulinus  was  also  an  official  of  mature 
years. 

Theodosius'  long  reign  passed  by  in  comparative 
quiet.  Its  only  serious  troubles  were  a  short  war 
with  the  Persians,  and  a  longer  one  with  Attila,  the 
great  king  of  the  Huns,  whose  empire  now  stretched 
over  all  the  lands  north  of  the  Black  Sea  and  Danube, 
where  the  Goths  had  once  dwelt.  In  this  struggle 
the  Roman  armies  were  almost  invariably  unfortunate. 
The  Huns  ravaged  the  country  as  far  as  Adrianople 
and  Philippopolis,  and  had  to  be  bought  off  by  the 
annual  payment  of  700  lbs.  of  gold  [i^3 1,000].  It  is 
true  that  they  fell  on  Theodosius  while  his  main  force 
was  engaged  on  the  Persian  frontier,  but  the  constant 
ill-success  of  the  imperial  generals  seems  to  show  that 
the  armies  of  the  East  had  never  been  properly  re- 
organized since  the  miHtary  system  of  Theodosius  I. 
had  been  broken  up  by  the  revolt  of  Gainas  forty 
years  before^  His  grandson  had  neither  a  trustworthy 
body  of  German  auxiliaries  nor  a  sufficiently  large 


ANGEL   OF    VICTORY. 
{Frovi  a  Fifth  century  Diptych.) 


REIGN   OF  MARCIANUS.  59 

native  levy  of  born  subjects  of  the  empire  to  protect 
his  borders. 

The  reconstruction  of  the  Roman  miHtary  forces 
was  reserved  for  the  successors  of  Theodosius  1 1. 
He  himself  was  killed  by  a  fall  from  his  horse  in 
450  A.D.,  leaving  an  only  daughter,  who  was  married 
to  her  cousin  Valentinian  III.,  Emperor  of  the  West. 
Theodosius,  with  great  wisdom,  had  designated  as 
his  successor,  not  his  young  son-in-law,  a  cruel 
and  profligate  prince,  but  his  sister  Pulcheria,  who 
at  the  same  time  ended  her  vow  of  celibacy  and 
married  Marcianus,  a  veteran  soldier  and  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Senate.  The  marriage  was  but  formal, 
for  both  were  now  well  advanced  in  years  :  as  a 
political  expedient  it  w^as  all  that  could  be  desired. 
The  empire  had  peace  and  prosperity  under  their 
rule,  and  freed  itself  from  the  ignominious  tribute  to 
the  Huns.  Before  Attila  died  in  452,  he  had  met 
and  been  checked  by  the  succours  which  Marcianus 
sent  to  the  distressed  Romans  of  the  West. 

When  IMarcianus  and  Pulcheria  passed  away,  the 
empire  came  into  the  hands  of  a  series  of  three  men 
of  ability.  They  were  all  bred  as  high  civil  officials, 
not  as  generals  ;  all  ascended  the  throne  at  a  ripe 
age  ;  not  one  of  them  won  his  crown  by  arms,  all  were 
peaceably  designated  either  by  their  predecessors,  or 
by  the  Senate  and  army.  These  princes  were  Leo  I. 
(457-474),  Zen 0(474-491),  Anastasius  (491-5 18).  Their 
chief  merit  was  that  they  guided  the  Roman  Empire 
in  the  East  safely  through  the  stormy  times  which 
saw  its  extinction  in  the  West.  While,  beyond  the 
Adriatic,  province  after  province   was  being    lopped 


6o    REORGANIZATION   OF   THE  EASTERN  EMPIRE, 

off  and  formed  into  a  new  Germanic  kingdom,  the 
emperors  who  reigned  at  Constantinople  kept  a  tight 
grip  on  the  Balkan  Peninsula  and  on  Asia,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  maintaining  their  realm  absolutely  intact. 
Both  East  and  West  were  equally  exposed  to  the 
barbarian  in  the  fifth  century,  and  the  difference  of 
their  fate  came  from  the  character  of  their  rulers,  not 
from  the  diversity  of  their  political  conditions.  In 
the  West,  after  the  extinction  of  the  house  of 
Theodosius  (455  A.D.),  the  emperors  were  ephemeral 
puppets,  made  and  unmade  by  the  generals  of  their 
armies,  who  were  invariably  Germans.  The  two 
Magistri  militum,  Ricimer  and  Gundovald  —  one 
Suabian,  the  other  Burgundian  by  birth — deposed  or 
slew  no  less  than  five  of  their  nominal  masters  in 
seventeen  years.  In  the  East,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
was  the  emperors  who  destroyed  one  after  another 
the  ambitious  generals,  who,  by  arms  or  intrigue, 
threatened  their  throne. 

While  this  comparison  bears  witness  to  the  personal 
ability  of  the  three  emperors  who  ruled  at  Constanti- 
nople between  A.D.  457  and  A.D.  518,  it  is  only  fair  to 
remember  they  were  greatly  helped  by  the  fact  that 
the  German  element  in  their  armies  had  never  reached 
the  pitch  of  power  to  which  it  had  attained  in  the 
West  ;  the  suppression  of  Gainas  forty  years  before 
had  saved  them  from  that  danger  But  unruly  and 
aspiring  generals  were  not  wanting  in  the  East ;  the 
greatest  danger  of  Leo  I.  was  the  conspiracy  of  the 
great  Magister  militum  Aspar,  whom  he  detected  and 
slew  when  he  was  on  the  eve  of  rebelling.  Zeno  was 
once  chased  out  of  his  capital  by  rebels,  and  twice 


ZENO   REORGANIZES    THE   ARMY.  6l 

vexed  by  dangerous  risings  in  Asia  Minor,  but  on 
each  occasion  he  triumphed  over  his  adversaries,  and 
celebrated  his  victory  by  the  execution  of  the  leaders 
of  the  revolt.  Anastasius  was  vexed  for  several  years 
by  the  raids  of  a  certain  Count  Vitalian,  who  ranged 
over  the  Thracian  provinces  with  armies  recruited 
from  the  barbarians  beyond  the  Danube.  But,  in 
spite  of  all  these  rebellions,  the  empire  was  never  in 
serious  danger  of  sinking  into  disorder  or  breaking 
up,  as  the  Western  realm  had  done,  into  new  un- 
Roman  kingdoms.  So  far  was  it  from  this  fate,  that 
Anastasius  left  his  successor,  when  he  died  in  A.D.  518, 
a  loyal  army  of  150,000  men,  a  treasure  of  320,000  lbs. 
of  gold,  and  an  unbroken  frontier  to  East  and  West. 

The  main  secret  of  the  success  of  the  emperors  of 
the  fifth  century  in  holding  their  own  came  from  the 
fact  that  they  had  reorganized  their  armies,  and  filled 
them  up  with  native  troops  in  great  numbers.  Leo  I. 
was  the  first  ruler  who  utilized  the  military  virtues  of 
the  Isaurians,  or  mountain  populations  of  Southern 
Asia  Minor.  He  added  several  regiments  of  them 
to  the  army  of  the  East,  but  it  was  his  son-in-law 
and  successor,  Zeno,  himself  an  Isaurian  born,  who 
developed  the  scheme.  He  raised  an  imperial  guard 
from  his  countrymen,  and  enlisted  as  many  corps 
of  them  as  could  be  raised  ;  moreover,  he  formed 
regiments  of  Armenians  and  other  inhabitants  of  the 
Roman  frontier  of  the  East,  and  handed  over  to  his 
successor,  Anastasius,  an  army  in  which  the  barbarian 
auxiliaries — now  composed  of  Teutons  and  Huns  in 
about  equal  numbers — were  decidedly  dominated  by 
the  native  elements. 


62   REORGANIZATION    OF   THE    EASTERN   EMPIRE, 

The  last  danger  which  the  Eastern  Empire  was  to 
experience  from  the  hands  of  the  Germans  fell  into 
the  reign  of  Zeno.  The  Ostrogoths  had  submitted 
to  the  Huns  ninety  years  before,  when  their  brethren 
the  Visigoths  fled  into  Roman  territory,  in  the 
reign  of  Valens.  But  when  the  Hunnish  Empire 
broke  up  at  the  death  of  Attila  [A.D.  452],  the  Ostro- 
goths freed  themselves,  and  replaced  their  late  masters 
as  the  main  danger  on  the  Danube.  The  bulk 
of  them  streamed  south-westward,  and  settled  in 
Pannonia,  the  border-province  of  the  Western  Empire, 
on  the  frontier  of  the  East-Roman  districts  of  Dacia 
and  Moesia.  They  soon  fell  out  with  Zeno,  and  two 
Ostrogothic  chiefs,  Theodoric,  the  son  of  Theodemir, 
and  Theodoric,  the  son  of  Triarius,  were  the  scourges 
of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  for  more  than  twenty  years. 
While  the  bulk  of  their  tribesmen  settled  down  on  the 
banks  of  the  Save  and  Mid-Danube,  the  two  Theo- 
dorics  harried  the  whole  of  Macedonia  and  Moesia  by 
never-ending  raids.  Zeno  tried  to  turn  tlicm  against 
each  other,  offering  first  to  the  one.  then  to  the  other^ 
the  title  of  Magister  milituvi,  and  a  large  pension. 
But  now — as  in  the  time  of  Alaric  and  Stilicho — it 
was  seen  that  "dog  will  not  eat  dog";  the  two 
Fheodorics,  after  quarrelling  for  a  while,  banded 
themselves  together  against  Zeno.  The  story  of  their 
reconciliation  is  curious. 

Theodoric,  the  son  of  Theodemir,  the  ally  of  Rome 
br  the  moment,  had  surrounded  his  ri\  al  on  a  rocky 
hill  in  a  defile  of  the  Balkans.  While  they  lay 
opposite  each  other,  Theodoric,  the  son  of  Triarius 
[he  is  usually  known  as  Theodoric  the  One-Eyed], 


REBELLION   OF   THEODORIC.  63 

rode  down  to  his  enemy's  lines  and  called  to  him, 
"  Madman,  betrayer  of  your  race,  do  you  not  see  that 
the  Roman  plan  is  always  to  destroy  Goths  by  Goths? 
Whichever  of  us  fails,  they,  not  we,  will  be  the 
stronger.  They  never  give  you  real  help,  but  send 
you  out  against  me  to  perish  here  in  the  Desert." 
Then  all  the  Goths  cried  out,  "  The  One-Eyed  is 
right.  These  men-are  Goths  like  ourselves."  So  the 
two  Theodorics  made  peace,  and  Zeno  had  to  cope 
with  them  both  at  once  [A.D.  479].  Two  years  later 
Theodoric  the  One-Eyed  was  slain  by  accident — his 
horse  flung  him,  as  he  mounted,  against  a  spear  fixed 
by  the  door  of  his  tent — but  his  namesake  continued 
a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the  empire  till  488  A.D. 

In  that  year  Zeno  bethought  him  of  a  device  for  rid- 
ding himself  of  the  Ostrogoth,  who,  though  he  made 
no  permanent  settlement  in  Moesia  or  Macedonia, 
was  gradually  depopulating  the  realm  by  his  incur- 
sions. The  line  of  ephemeral  emperors  who  reigned 
in  Italy  over  the  shrunken  Western  realm  had  ended 
in  476,  when  the  German  general  Odoacer  deposed 
Romulus  Augustulus,  and  did  not  trouble  himself  to 
nominate  another  puppet-Caesar  to  succeed  him. 
By  his  order  a  deputation  from  the  Roman  Senate 
visited  Zeno  at  Constantinople,  to  inform  him  that 
they  did  not  require  an  emperor  of  their  own  to 
govern  Italy,  but  would  acknowledge  him  as  ruler 
alike  of  East  and  West  ;  at  the  same  time  they  be- 
sought Zeno  to  nominate,  as  his  representative  in  the 
Italian  lands,  their  defender,  the  great  Odoacer.  Zeno 
replied  by  advising  the  Romans  to  persuade  Odoacer 
to  recognize  as   his  lord   Julius    Nepos,  one    of   the 


SA. 


REORGANIZATION   OF    THE   EASTERN   EMPIRE, 


0 

dethroned  nominees  of  Ricimer,  who  had  survived  his 
loss  of  the  imperial  diadem.  Odoacer  refused,  and 
proclaimed  himself  king  in  Italy,  while  still  affecting 
— against  Zeno's  own  will — to  recognize  the  Con- 
stantinopolitan  emperor  as  his  suzerain. 

In  488  A.D.  it  occurred  to  Zeno  to  offer  Theodoric 
the  government  of  Italy,  if  he  would  conquer  it  from 
Odoacer.  The  Ostrogoth,  who  had  harried  the  in- 
land of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  bare,  and  had  met 
several  reverses  of  late  from  the  Roman  arms,  took 
the  offer.  He  was  made  "  patrician  "  and  consul,  and 
started  off  with  all  the  Ostrogothic  nation  at  his  back 
to  win  the  realm  of  Italy.  After  hard  fighting  with 
Odoacer  and  the  mixed  multitude  of  mercenaries 
that  followed  him,  the  Goths  conquered  Italy,  and 
Tlheodoric — German  king  and  Roman  patrician — 
began  to  reign  at  Ravenna.  He  always  professed  to 
be  the  vassal  and  deputy  of  the  emperor  at  Con- 
stantinople, and  theoretically  his  conquest  of  Italy 
meant  the  reunion  of  the  East  and  the  West.  But 
the  Western  realm  had  shrunk  down  to  Italy  and 
Illyricum,  and  the  power  of  Zeno  therein  was  purely 
nominal. 

With  the  departure  of  the  Ostrogoths  we  have 
seen  our  last  of  the  Germans  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula  ; 
after  488  the  Slavs  take  their  place  as  the  molesters 
of  the  Roman  frontier  on  the  Danube. 


VI, 

JUSTINIAN. 

The  Emperor  Anastasius  died  in  A.D.  518  at  the 
ripe  age  of  eighty-eight,  and  his  sceptre  passed  to 
Justinus,  the  commander  of  his  body-guard,  whom 
Senate  and  army  alike  hailed  as  most  worthy  to 
succeed  the  good  old  man.  The  late  emperor  had 
nephews,  but  he  had  never  designated  them  as  his 
heirs,  and  they  retired  into  private  life  at  his  death. 
Justinus  was  well  advanced  in  years,  as  all  his  three 
predecessors  had  been  when  they  mounted  the  throne. 
But  unlike  Leo,  Zeno,  and  Anastasius,  he  had  won 
his  way  to  the  front  in  the  army,  not  in  the  civil 
service.  He  had  risen  from  the  ranks,  was  a  rough 
uncultured  soldier,  and  is  said  to  have  been  hardly  able 
to  sign  his  own  name.  His  reign  of  nine  years  would 
have  been  of  little  note  in  history — for  he  made  no 
wars  and  spent  no  treasure — if  he  had  not  been  the 
means  of  placing  on  the  throne  of  the  East  the 
greatest  ruler  since  the  death  of  Constantine. 

Justinus  had  no  children  himself,  but  had  adopted 
as  his  heir  his  nephew  Justinian,  son  of  his  deceased 
brother  Sabatius.     This  xoung  man,   born  after  his 


66  yuSTINIAN. 

father  and  uncle  had  won  their  way  to  high  places  in 
the  army,  was  no  uncultured  peasant  as  they  had  been, 
but  had  been  reared,  as  the  heir  of  a  wealthy  house, 
in  all  the  learning  of  the  day.  He  showed  from  the 
first  a  keen  intelligence,  and  applied  himself  with 
zeal  to  almost  every  department  of  civil  life.  Law, 
finance,  administrative  economy,  theology,  music, 
architecture,  fortification,  all  were  dear  to  him.  The 
only  thing  in  which  he  seems  to  have  taken  little  per- 
sonal interest  was  military  matters.  His  uncle  trusted 
everything  to  him,  and  finally  made  him  his  colleague 
on  the  throne. 

Justinian  was  heir  designate  to  the  empire,  and  had 
passed  the  age  of  thirty-five,  giving  his  contemporaries 
the  impression  that  he  was  a  staid,  business-like,  and 
eminently  practical  personage.  "  No  one  ever  re- 
membered him  young,"  it  was  said,  and  most  certainly 
no  one  ever  expected  him  to  scandalize  the  empire 
by  a  sensational  marriage.  But  in  A.D.  526  the  world 
learnt,  to  the  horror  of  the  respectable  and  the  joy  of 
all  scandal-mongers,  that  he  had  declared  his  intention 
of  taking  to  wife  the  dancer  Theodora,  the  star  of  the 
Byzantine  comic  stage. 

So  many  stories  have  gathered  around  Theodora's 
name  that  it  is  hard  to  say  how  far  her  early  life  had 
been  discreditable.  A  libellous  work  called  the  "  Secret 
History,"  written  by  an  enemy  of  herself  and  her 
husband, I  gives  us  many  scandalous  details  of  her 
career  ;  but  the  very  virulence  of  the  book  makes  its 
tales  incredible.  It  is  indisputable,  however,  that 
Theodora  was  an  actress,  and  that  Roman  actresses 

'  Certainly  not  l)y  Procopius,  whose  name  it  bears. 


THEODORA.  67 

enjoyed  an  unenviable  reputation  for  light  morals. 
There  was  actually  a  law  which  forbade  a  member  of 
the  Senate  to  marry  an  actress,  and  Justinian  had  to 
repeal  it  in  order  to  legalize  his  own  marriage.  There 
had  been  scores  of  bad  and  reckless  men  on  the 
throne  before,  but  none  of  them  had  ever  dared  to 
commit  an  action  which  startled  the  world  half  so 
much  as  this  freak  of  the  staid  Justinian.  His  own 
mother  used  every  effort  to  turn  him  from  his  pur- 
pose, and  his  uncle  the  Emperor  threatened  to  dis- 
inherit him  :  but  he  was  quietly  persistent,  and  ere 
the  aged  Justinus  died  he  had  been  induced  to  ac- 
knowledge the  marriage  of  his  nephew,  and  to  confer 
on  Theodora  the  title  of  "  Patrician." 

Theodora,  as  even  her  enemies  allow,  was  the  most 
beautiful  woman  of  her  age.  Procopius,  the  best 
historian  of  the  day,  says  "  that  it  was  impossible  for 
mere  man  to  describe  her  comeliness  in  words,  or 
imitate  it  in  art."  All  that  her  detractors  could  say 
was  that  she  was  below  the  middle  height,  and  that 
her  complexion  was  rather  pale,  though  not  unhealthy. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  we  have  no  representation  of 
her  surviving,  save  the  famous  mosaic  in  San  Vitale 
at  Ravenna,  and  mosaic  is  of  all  forms  of  art  that 
least  suited  to  reproduce  beauty. 

Whatever  her  early  life  may  have  been,  Theodora 
was  in  spirit  and  intelligence  well  suited  to  be  the 
mate  of  the  Emperor  of  the  East.  After  her  mar- 
riage no  word  of  scandal  was  breathed  against  her 
Hfe.  She  rose  to  the  height  of  her  situation  :  once 
her  courage  saved  her  husband's  throne,  and  always  she 
was  the  ablest  and  the  most  trusted  of  his  councillors. 


z  ^ 

<  k:^ 

<  :^ 

C  :^ 

C  :^ 


ir:    -^ 


yUSTINIAN'S    PERSONAL     CHARACTER.  69 

TKe  grave,  studious,  and  hard-working  Emperor  never 
regretted  his  choice  of  a  consort. 

It  cannot  be  said,  however,  that  either  Justinian  or 
Theodora  are  sympathetic  characters.  The  Emperor 
was  a  hard  and  suspicious  master,  and  not  over  grate- 
ful to  subjects  who  served  him  well  ;  he  was  intolerant 
in  religious,  and  unscrupulous  in  political  matters. 
When  his  heart  was  set  on  a  project  he  was  utterly 
unmindful  of  the  slaughter  and  ruin  which  it  might 
bring  upon  his  people.  In  the  extent  of  his  conquests 
and  the  magnificence  of  his  public  works,  he  was  in- 
comparably the  greatest  of  the  emperors  who  reigned 
at  Constantinople.  But  the  greatness  was  purely 
personal  :  he  left  the  empire  weaker  in  resources,  if 
broader  in  provinces,  than  he  found  it.  Of  all  the 
great  sovereigns  of  history  he  may  be  most  fairly 
compared  with  Louis  XIV.  of  France  ;  but  it  may  be 
remembered  to  his  credit  in  the  comparison  that  Louis 
has  nothing  to  set  against  Justinian's  great  legal  work — 
the  compilation  of  the  Pandects  and  Institutes,  and  that 
Justinian's  private  life,  unlike  that  of  the  Frenchman, 
was  strict  even  to  austerity.  All  night  long,  we  read, 
he  sat  alone  over  his  State  papers  in  his  cabinet,  or 
paced  the  dark  halls  in  deep  thought.  His  sleepless 
vigilance  so  struck  his  subjects  that  the  strangest 
legends  became  current  even  in  his  life- time  •  his  ene- 
mies whispered  that  he  was  no  mere  man,  but  an  evil 
spirit  that  required  no  rest.  One  grotesque  tale  even 
said  that  the  Emperor  had  been  seen  long  after  mid- 
night traversing  the  corridors  of  his  palace — without 
his  head. 

If  Justinian  seemed   hardly  human   to  those   who 


70  yUSTINIAN. 

feared  him,  Theodora  is  represented  as  entirely  given 
up  to  pride  and  ambition,  never  forgiving  an  offence, 
but  hunting  to  death  or  exile  all  who  had  crossed  her 
in  the  smallest  thing.  She  is  reproached — but  who  that 
has  risen  from  a  low  estate  is  not  ? — of  an  inordinate 
love  for  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  imperial  state. 
High  officials  complained  that  she  had  as  great  a 
voice  in  settling  political  matters  as  her  husband. 
Yet,  on  the  whole,  her  influence  would  appear  not  to 
have  been  an  evil  one — historians  acknowledge  that 
she  was  liberal  in  almsgiving,  religious  after  her  own 
fashion,  and  that  she  often  interfered  to  aid  the 
•oppressed.  It  is  particularly  recorded  that,  remem- 
bering the  dangers  of  her  own  youth,  she  was  zealous 
in  establishing  institutions  for  the  reclaiming  of  women 
who  had  fallen  into  sin. 

The  aged  Justinus  died  in  527  A.D.,  and  Justinian 
became  the  sole  occupant  of  the  throne,  which  he  vvas 
destined  to  occupy  for  thirty-eight  years.  It  was  less 
than  half  the  century,  yet  his  personality  seems  to  per- 
vade the  whole  period,  and  history  hardly  remembers 
the  insignificant  predecessors  and  successors  whose 
reigns  eke  out  the  remainder  of  the  years  between  500 
and  600. 

The  empire  when  Justinian  took  it  over  from  the 
hands  of  his  uncle  was  in  a  more  prosperous  condition 
than  it  had  known  since  the  death  of  Constantine. 
Since  the  Ostrogoths  had  moved  out  of  the  Balkan 
Peninsula  in  A.D.  487,  it  had  not  suffered  from  any  very 
long  or  destructive  invasion  from  without.  The  Sla- 
vonic tribes,  now  heard  of  for  the  first  time,  and  the 
Bulgarians  had    made  raids  across  the  Danube,  but 


yUSTINIAN'S    ARMY.  71 

they  had  not  yet  shown  any  signs  of  settling  down — 
as  the  Goths  had  done — within  the  limits  of  the 
empire.  Their  incursions,  though  vexatious,  were  not 
dangerous.  Still  the  European  provinces  of  the 
empire  were  in  worse  condition  than  the  Asiatic,  and 
were  far  from  having  recovered  the  effects  of  the 
ravages  of  Fritigern  and  Alaric,  Attila,  and  Theo- 
doric.  But  the  more  fortunate  Asiatic  lands  had 
hardly  seen  a  foreign  enemy  for  centuries.^  Except 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  Persian  fron- 
tier there  was  no  danger,  and  Persian  wars  had  been 
infrequent  of  late.  Southern  Asia  Minor  had  once  or 
twice  suffered  from  internal  risings — rebellions  of  the 
warlike  Isaurians— but  civil  war  left  no  such  perma- 
nent mark  on  the  land  as  did  barbarian  invasions.  On 
the  whole,  the  resources  of  the  provinces  beyond  the 
Bosphorus  were  intact. 

Justinus  in  his  quiet  reign  had  spent  little  or  none 
of  the  great  hoard  of  treasure  which  Anastasius  had 
bequeathed  to  him.  There  were  more  than  300,000  lbs. 
of  gold  [^13,400,000]  in  store  when  Justinian  came  to 
the  throne.  The  army,  as  we  have  had  occasion  to 
relate  in  the  last  chapter,  was  in  good  order,  and  com- 
posed in  a  larger  proportion  of  born  subjects  of  the 
empire  than  it  had  been  at  any  time  since  the  battle  of 
Adrianople.  There  would  appear  to  have  been  from 
1 50,000  to  200,000  men  under  arms,  but  the  extent  of 
the  frontiers  of  the  empire  were  so  great  that  Jus- 
tinian  never  sent  out  a   single   army  of  more  than 

^  There  had  been  only  an  isolated  raids  of  Huns  in  a.d.  395,  which 
penetrated  as  far  as  Palestine.  No  other  invasion  reached  as  far  as 
Antioch. 


72  yUSTINIAN. 

30,000  strong,  and  forces  of  only  a  third  of  that 
number  are  often  found  entrusted  with  such  mighty 
enterprises  as  the  invasion  of  Africa  or  the  defence 
of  the  Armenian  border.  The  flower  of  the  Roman 
army  was  no  longer  its  infantry,  but  its  mailed  horse- 
men {CatapJiracti),  armed  with  lance  and  bow,  as  the 
Parthian  cavalry  had  once  been  of  old.  The  infantry 
comprised  more  archers  and  javelin-men  than  heavy 
troops  :  the  Isaurians  and  other  provincials  of  the 
mountainous  parts  of  Asia  Minor  were  reckoned 
the  best  of  them.  Among  both  horse  and  foot  large 
bodies  of  foreign  auxiliaries  were  still  found  :  the 
Huns  and  Arab^^  supplied  light  cavalry,  the  German 
Herules  and  Gepidae  from  beyond  the  Danube  heavier 
troops. 

'The  weakest  point  in  the  empire  when  Justinian 
took  it  over  was  its  financial  system.  The  cardinal- 
maxim  of  political  economy,  that  *'  taxes  should  be 
raised  in  the  manner  least  oppressive  to  those  who 
pay  them  "  was  as  yet  undreamt  of.  The  exaction 
of  arbitrary  customs  dues,  and  the  frequent  grant  of 
monopolies  was  noxious  to  trade.  The  deplorable 
system  of  tax-farming  through  middlemen  was  em- 
ployed in  many  branches  of  the  revenue.  Landed 
proprietors,  small  and  great,  were  still  mercilessly 
overtaxed,  in  consideration  of  their  exemption  from 
military  service.  The  budget  was  always  handi- 
capped by  the  necessity  for  providing  free  corn  for 
the  populace  of  Constantinople.  Yet  in  spite  of  all 
these  drawbacks  Justinian  enjoyed  an  enormous  and 
steady  revenue.  His  finance  minister,  John  of  Cap- 
padocia,  was  such  an  ingenious  extortioner  that  the 


yUSTINIAN'S    FOREIGN    POLICY,  73 

treasury  was  never  empty  in  the  hardest  stress  of  war 
and  famine  :  but  it  was  kept  full  at  the  expense  of 
the  future.  The  grinding  taxation  of  Justinian's 
reign  bore  fruit  in  the  permanent  impoverishment 
of  the  provinces  :  his  successors  were  never  able  to 
raise  such  a  revenue  again.  Here  again  Justinian 
may  well  be  compared  to  Louis  XIV. 

Justinian's  policy  divides  into  the  departments  of 
internal  and  foreign  affairs.  Of  his  doings  as  legis- 
lator, administrator,  theologian,  and  builder,  we  shall 
speak  in  their  proper  place.  But  the  history  of  his 
foreign  policy  forms  the  main  interest  of  his  reign. 
He  had  determined  to  take  up  a  task  which  none  of 
his  predecessors  since  the  division  of  the  Empire 
under  Arcadius  and  Honorius  had  dared  to  contem- 
plate. It  was  his  dream  to  re-unite  under  his  sceptre  1 
the  German  kingdoms  in  the  Western  Mediterranean 
which  had  been  formed  out  of  the  broken  fragments 
of  the  realm  of  Honorius  ;  and  to  end  the  solemn 
pretence  by  which  he  was  nominally  acknowledged  as 
Emperor  West  of  the  Adriatic,  while  really  all  power 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  German  rulers  who  posed  a^ 
his  vicegerents.  He  aimed  at  reconquering  Italy, 
Africa,  and  Spain — if  not  the  further  provinces  of  the 
old  empire.  We  shall  see  that  he  went  far  towards 
accomplishing  his  intention. 

But  during  the  first  five  years  of  his  reign  his  atten- 
tion was  distracted  by  other  matters.  The  first  of 
them  was  an  obstinate  war  of  four  years'  duration, 
with  Kobad,  King  of  Persia.  The  causes  of  quarrel 
were  ultimately  the  rival  pretensions  of  the  Roman 
and  Persian  Empires  to  the  suzerainty  of  the  small 


74  yu  ST  INI  AN. 

states  on  their  northern  frontiers  near  the  Black  Sea, 
the  kingdoms  of  Lazica  and  Iberia,  and  more  proxi- 
mately the  strengthening  of  the  fortresses  on  the 
Mesopotamian  border  by  Justinian.  His  fortification 
of  Dara,  close  to  the  Persian  frontier  town  of  Nisibis, 
was  the  casus  belli  chosen  by  Kobad,  who  declared 
war  in  528,  a  year  after  Justinian's  accession. 

The  Persian  war  was  bloody,  but  absolutely  inde- 
cisive. All  the  attacks  of  the  enemy  were  repelled, 
and  one  great  pitched  battle  won  over  him  at  Dara  in 
530.  But  neither  party  succeeded  in  taking  a  single 
fortress  of  importance  from  the  other  ;  and  when,  on 
the  death  of  Kobad,  his  son  Chosroes  made  peace 
with  the  empire,  the  terms  amounted  to  the  restora- 
tion of  the  old  frontier.  The  only  importance  of  the 
war  was  that  it  enabled  Justinian  to  test  his  army, 
and  showed  him  that  he  possessed  an  officer  of  first- 
rate  merit  in  Belisarius,  the  victor  of  the  battle  of 
Dara. 

This  famous  general  was  a  native  of  the  Thracian 
inland  ;  he  entered  the  army  very  young,  and  rose 
rapidly,  till  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  was  already 
Governor  of  Dara,  and  at  twenty-five  Magister  niilitum 
of  the  East.^  His  influence  at  Court  was  very  great, 
as  he  had  married  Antonina,  the  favourite  and  confi- 
dante of  the  Empress  Theodora.  His  position,  ii^deed, 
was  not  unlike  that  which  Marlborough,  owing  to  his 
wife's  ascendency,  enjoyed  at  the  Court  of  Queen 
Anne.     Like  Marlborough,  too,  Belisarius  was  ruled 

*  "  Born  in  Germania,  a  district  between  Thrace aiwl  and  lllyricum," 
says  his  secretary,  Procopius.  We  do  not  know  where  ihe  district — a 
German  settlement,  presumablv — was  situated. 


THE    BLUES    AND    GREENS.  75 

and  bullied  by  his  clever  and  unscrupulous  wife. 
Unlike  the  great  Duchess  Sarah,  Antonina  never  set 
herself  to  thwart  her  mistress  ;  but  after  Theodora's 
death  she  and  her  husband  lost  favour,  and  in 
declining  years  knew  much  the  same  misfortune  as 
did  the  Marlboroughs. 

The  year  which  saw  the  Persian  War  end  [a.d.  532], 
saw  also  the  rise  and  fall  of  another  danger,  which 
while  it  lasted  was  much  more  threatening  to  the 
Emperor's  life  and  power.  We  have  already  noticed 
the  "Blues"  and  "  Greens,"  the  great  factions  of  the 
Byzantine  Circus.'  AH  through  the  fifth  century  they 
had  been  growing  stronger,  and  interfered  more  and 
more  in  politics,  and  even  in  religious  controversies. 
To  be  a  ''Green"  in  530  meant  to  be  a  partisan  of 
the  house  of  the  late  Emperor  Anastasius,  and  a 
Monophysite.2  The  "  Blues  "  posed  as  partisans  of 
the  house  of  Justinus,  and  as  strictly  orthodox  in 
matters  ecclesiastical.  From  mere  Circus  factions 
they  had  almost  grown  into  political  parties ;  but 
they  still  retained  at  the  bottom  many  traces  of  their 
low  sporting  'origin.  The  rougher  elements  pre- 
dominated in  them ;  they  were  prone  to  riot  and 
mischief,  and,  as  the  events  of  532  were  to  show,  they 
were  a  serious  danger  to  the  State. 

In  January  of  that  year  there  was  serious  rioting  in 
the  streets.  Justinian,  though  ordinarily  he  favoured 
the  Blue  faction,  impartially  ordered  the  leaders 
of  the   rioters   on    both    sides   to   be   put    to  death. 

*  See  chap.  ii.  p.  22. 

^  To  hold  the  view  which  denied  the  existence  both  of  a  truly  human 
and  a  truly  Divine  nature  in  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


76  yUSTINIAN. 

Seven  were  selected  for  execution,  and  four  of  them 
were  duly  beheaded  in  the  presence  of  a  great  and 
angry  mob,  in  front  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Conon. 
The  last  three  rioters  were  to  be  hung,  but  the  hang- 
man so  bungled  his  task  that  two  of  the  criminals, 
one  a  Blue  the  other  a  Green,  fell  to  the  ground  alive. 
The  guards  seized  them  and  they  were  again  sus- 
pended ;  but  once  more — owing  no  doubt  to  the  terror 
of  the  executioners  at  the  menaces  of  the  mob — 
the  rope  slipped.  Then  the  multitude  broke  loose, 
the  guards  were  swept  away,  and  the  half-hung 
criminals  were  thrust  into  sanctuary  at  the  adjacent 
monastery. 

This  exciting  incident  proved  the  commencement 
of  six  days  of  desperate  rioting.  The  Blues  and 
Greens  united,  and  taking  as  their  watchword,  Nzka^ 
"  conquer,"  swept  through  the  city,  crying  for  the  de- 
position of  John  of  Cappadocia,  the  unpopular  finance 
minister,  and  of  Eudemius,  Praefect  of  the  city,  who 
was  immediately  responsible  for  the  executions.  The 
ordinary  police  of  the  capital  were  quite  unable  to 
master  them,  and  Justinian  was  weak  enough  to  pro- 
mise to  dismiss  the  officials.  But  the  mob  was  now 
quite  out  of  hand,  and  refused  to  disperse :  the 
trouble  was  fomented  by  the  partisans  of  the  house  of 
the  late  emperor,  who  began  to  shout  for  the  deposi- 
tion of  Justinian,  and  wished  to  make  Hypatius, 
nephew  of  Anastasius,  Caesar  in  his  stead.  The  city  ^^ 
was  almost  empty  of  troops,  owing  to  the  garrison 
having  been  sent  to  the  Persian  War.  .  The  Emperor 
could  only  count  on  4,000  men  of  the  Imperial 
Guard,  a    few  German    auxiliaries,    and    a   regiment 


THB    NIKA    RIOT.  yy 

of  500  "  Cataphracti,"  mailed  horsemen,  under  Beli- 
sarius,  who  had  just  returned  from  the  seat  of  war. 

BeHsarius  was  placed  in  command  of  the  whole, 
and  sallied  out  to  clear  the  streets,  but  the  rioters, 
showing  the  same  pluck  that  the  Byzantine  mob  dis- 
played against  the  soldiers  of  Gainas  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  years  before,  offered  a  stout  resistance. 
The  main  fighting  took  place  around  the  great 
square  of  the  Augustaeum,  between  the  Imperial 
palace  and  the  Hippodrome.  In  the  heat  of  the 
fight  the  rebels  set  fire  to  the  Brazen  Porch  by 
the  Senate  House.  The  Senate  House  caught  fire, 
and  then  the  conflagration  spread  east  and  north, 
till  it  was  wafted  across  the  square  to  St.  Sophia. 
On  the  third  day  of  the  riot  the  great  cathedral 
was  burnt  to  the  ground,  and  from  thence  the  flames 
issued  out  to  burn  the  hospital  of  Sampson  and  the 
church  of  St.  Irene.^  The  fire  checked  the  fighting, 
and  the  insurgents  were  now  in  possession  of  most 
of  the  city.  But  they  could  not  find  their  chosen 
leader,  for  the  unfortunate  Hypatius,  who  had  no 
desire  to  risk  his  neck,  had  taken  refuge  with  the 
Emperor  in  the  palace.  It  was  not  till  he  was 
actually  driven  out  by  Justinian,  who  feared  to  have 
him  about  his  person,  that  this  rebel  in  spite  of 
himself,  fell  into  the  hands  of  his  own  adherents. 
But  on  the  sixth  day  of  the^  riots  they  led  him  to  the 
Hippodrome,  installed  him  in  the  royal  seat  of  the 
Kathisma,  and  crowned  him  there  with  a  gold  chain 
of  his  wife's,  for  want  of  a  proper  diadem. 

Meanwhile    there   was    dismay    and    diversity   of 

*  See  map  on  p.  20. 


THEODORA    I\h'Klw\TRIX. 

[J^rom  the  Painting  by  Val.  Prinscp.       'J 'he  copytHght  is  in  thf 
Artist's  hands.'] 


THEODORA'S    SPEECH.  79 

councils  in  the  Palace.  John  of  Cappadocia  and 
many  other  ministers  strove  to  persuade  the  Emperor 
to  fly  by  sea,  and  gather  additional  troops  at  Hera- 
clea.  There  was  nothing  left  in  his  power  save  the 
palace,  and  they  insisted  that  if  he  remained  there 
longer  he  would  be  surrounded  by  the  rebels  and  cut 
off  from  escape.  It  was  then  that  the  Empress  Theo- 
dora rose  to  the  level  of  the  occasion,  refused  to  fly, 
and  urged  her  husband  to  make  one  final  assault  on 
the  enemy.     Her  words  are  preserved  by  Procopius. 

*'  This  is  no  occasion  to  keep  to  the  old  rule  that  a 
woman  must  not  speak  in  the  council.  Those  who 
are  most  concerned  have  most  right  to  dictate  the 
course  of  action.  Now  every  man  must  die  once,  and 
for  a  king  death  is  better  than  dethronement  and 
exile.  May  I  never  see  the  day  when  my  purple  robe 
is  stripped  from  me,  and  when  I  am  no  more  called 
Lady  and  Mistress  !  If  you  wish,  O  Emperor,  to  save 
your  life,  nothing  is  easier :  there  are  your  ships  and 
the  sea.  But  /  agree  with  the  old  saying  that 
'  Empire  is  the  best  winding-sheet.' " 

Spurred  on  by  his  wife's  bold  words,  Justinian 
ordered  a  last  assault  on  the  rebels,  and  Belisarius  led 
out  his  full  force.  The  factions  were  now  in  the  Hip- 
podrome, saluting  their  newly-crowned  leader  with 
shouts  of  '' Hypatie  Atigtiste,  tu  vmcas,"  preparatory 
to  a  final  attack  on  the  palace.  Belisarius  attacked 
at  once  all  three  gates  of  the  Hippodrome :  that 
directed  against  the  door  of  the  Kathisma  failed,  but 
the  soldiery  forced  both  the  side  entrances,  and  after  a 
hard  struggle  the  rebels  were  entirely  routed.  Crowded 
into   the   enormous    building    with    only   five   exits, 


8o 


yU6TINIAN, 


they  fell  In  thousands  by  the  swords  of  the  victorious 
Imperialists.  It  is  said  that  35,000  men  were  slain  in 
the  six  days  of  this  great  "  Sedition  of  Nika." 

It  is  curious  to  learn  that  not  even  this  awful 
slaughter  succeeded  in  crushing  the  factions.  We 
hear  of  the  Blues  and  Greens  still  rioting  on  various 
occasions  during  the  next  fifty  years.  But  they  never 
came  again  so  near  to  changing  the  course  of  history 
as  in  the  famous  rising  of  A.D.  532. 


VII. 

JUSTINIAN'S   FOREIGN   CONQUESTS. 

After  the  Persians  had  drawn  back,  foiled  in  their 
attempt  to  conquer  Mesopotamia,  and  after  the  sup- 
pression of  the  "Nika"  sedition  iad  cowed  the  unruly- 
populace  of  Constantinople,  Justinian  found  himself 
at  last  free,  and  was  able  to  take  in  hand  his  great 
scheme  for  the  reconquest  of  the  lost  provinces  of 
the  empire. 

The  enforced  delay  of  six  years  between  his  acces- 
sion and  his  first  attempt  to  execute  his  great  plan, 
was,  as  it  happened,  extremely  favourable  to  the  Em- 
peror. In  each  of  the  two  German  kingdoms  with 
which  he  had  first  to  deal,  the  power  had  passed 
within  those  six  years  into  the  hands  of  a  weak  and 
incapable  sovereign.  In  Africa,  Hilderic,  the  king 
of  the  Vandals,  had  been  dethroned  by  his  cousin 
Gelimer,  a  warlike  and  ambitious,  but  very  incapable, 
ruler.  In  Italy,  Theodoric,  the  great  king  of  the  Os- 
trogoths, had  died  in  A.D.  526,  and  his  grandson  and 
successor,  Athalaric,  in  A.D.  533.'  After  the  death  of  the 
young  Athalaric,  the  kingdom  fell  to  his  mother, 
Amalasuntha,  and  she,  compelled  by  Gothic  public 


82  yUSTINIAN'S   FOREIGN   CONQUESTS. 

opinion  to  take  a  husband  to  rule  in  her  behalf,  had 
unwisely  wedded  Theodahat,  her  nearest  kinsman. 
He  was  cruel,  scheming,  and  suspicious,  and  mur- 
dered his  wife,  within  a  year  of  her  having  brought 
him  the  kingdom  of  Italy  as  a  dowry. ^  Cowardly 
and  avaricious  as  well  as  ungrateful,  Theodahat  pos- 
sessed exactly  those  vices  which  were  most  suited  to 
make  him  the  scorn  of  his  warlike  subjects  ;  he  could 
count  neither  on  their  loyalty  nor  their  respect  in  the 
event  of  a  war. 

Both  the  Vandals  in  Africa  and  the  Goths  in  Italy 
were  at  this  time  so  weak  as  to  invite  an  attack  by 
an  enterprising  neighbour.  They  had,  in  fact,  con- 
quered larger  realms  than  their  limited  numbers  were 
really  able  to  control.  The  original  tribal  hordes 
which  had  subdued  Africa  and  Italy  were  composed 
of  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  warriors,  with  their  wives 
and  children.  Now  such  a  body  concentrated  on  one 
spot  was  powerful  enough  to  bear  down  everything 
before  it.  But  when  the  conquerors  spread 'them- 
selves abroad,  they  were  but  a  sprinkling  among  the 
millions  of  provincials  whom  they  had  to  govern.  In 
all  Italy  there  were  probably  but  three  cities — Ra- 
venna, Verona,  and  Pavia  —in  which  the  Ostrogoths 
formed  a  large  proportion  of  the  population.  A  great 
army  makes  but  a  small  nation,  and  the  Goths  and  Van- 
dals were  too  few  to  occupy  such  wide  tracts  as  Italy 
and  Africa.  They  formed  merely  a  small  aristocracy, 
governing    by    dint    of  the    ascendency  which    their 

'  The  murder  of  Amalasuntha  took  place  af/e-r  the  Roman  invasion 
of  Africa  ;  but  Theodahat  was  already  on  the  throne  when  the  Vandal 
war  was  proceeding. 


WEAKNESS   OF   THE   GOTHS   IN   ITALY,  83 

fathers  had  won  over  the  minds  of  the  unwarHke 
populations  which  they  had  subdued.  The  only 
chance  for  the  survival  of  the  Ostrogothic  and  Van- 
dal monarchies  lay  in  the  possibility  of  their  amal- 
gamating with  the  Roman  provincial  population,  as 
the  Franks,  under  more  favourable  circumstances, 
did  with  the  conquered  inhabitants  of  Gaul.  This 
was  seen  by  Theodoric,  the  great  conqueror  of  Italy  ; 
and  he  did  his  best  to  reconcile  Goth  and  Roman, 
held  the  balance  with  strict  justice  between  the  two, 
and  employed  Romans  as  well  as  Goths  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country.  But  one  generation  does  little 
to  assuage  old  hatreds  such  as  that  between  the  con- 
querors and  the  conquered  in  ifcly.  Theodoric  was 
succeeded  by  a  child,  and  then  by  a  ruffian,  and  his 
work  ended  with  him.  Even  he  was  unable  to  strike 
at  the  most  fatal  difference  of  all  between  his  country- 
men and  the  Italians.  The  Goths  were  Arians,  having 
been  converted  to  Christianity  in  the  fourth  century 
by  missionaries  who  held  the  Arian  heresy.  Their 
subjects,  on  the  other  hand,  were  Orthodox  Catholics, 
almost  without  exception.  When  religious  hatred 
was  added  to  race  hatred,  there  was  hardly  any  hope 
of  welding  together  the  two  nationalities. 

Another  source  of  weakness  in  the  kingdoms  of 
Africa  and  Italy  must  be  noted.  The  Vandals  of  the 
third  generation  and  the  Goths  of  the  second,  after 
their  settlement  in  the  south,  seem  to  have  degenerated 
in  courage  and  stamina.  It  may  be  that  the  climate 
was  unfavourable  to  races  reared  in  the  Danube  lands; 
it  may  be  that  the  temptations  of  unlimited  luxury 
offered  by  Roman  civilization  sufficed  to  demoralize 


\'4 


84  yUSTINlAN'S    FOREIGN   CONQUESTS. 

them.  A  Gothic  sage  observed  at  the  time  that  "  the 
Goth,  when  rich,  tends  to  become  Rom?n  in  his 
habits ;  the  Roman,  when  poor,  Gothic  in  his." 
There  was  truth  in  this  saying,  and  the  result  of  the 
change  was  ominous  for  the  permanence  of  the  king- 
dom of  Italy.  If  the  masters  softened  and  the  sub- 
jects hardened,  they  would  not  preserve  for  ever  their 
respective  positions. 

The  case  of  the  kingdom  of  Africa  was  infinitely 
worse  than  that  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy.  The  Van- 
dals were  less  numerous  than  the  Goths,  in  proportion 
to  their  subjects  ;  they  were  not  merely  heretics,  but 
fanatical  and  persecuting  heretics,  which  the  Goths 
were  not.  Moreovei^  they  had  never  had  at  their 
head  a  great  organizer  and  administrator  like  Theo- 
doric,  but  only  a  succession  of  turbulent  princes  of 
the  Viking  type,  fit  for  war  and  nothing  else. 

Justinian  declared  war  on  King  Gelimer  the  mo- 
ment that  he  had  made  peace  with  Persia,  using  as 
his  casus  belli,  not  a  definite  re-assertion  of  the  claim 
of  the  empire  over  Africa — for  such  language  would 
have  provoked  the  rulers  of  Italy  and  Spain  to  join 
the  Vandals,  but  the  fact  that  Gelimer  had  wrong- 
fully deposed  Hilderic,  the  Emperor's  ally.  In  July, 
533,  Belisarius,  who  was  now  at  the  height  of  his 
favour  for  his  successful  suppression  of  the  "  Nika  " 
rioters,  sailed  from  the  Rosphorus  with  an  army  of 
10,000  foot  and  5,000  horse.  He  was  accompanied, 
luckily  for  history,  by  his  secretary,  Procopius,  a  very 
capable  writer,  who  has  left  a  full  account  of  his 
master's  campaigns.  Belisarius  landed  at  Tripoli, at  the 
extreme  eastern  limit  of  the  Vandal  power.    The  town 


dtrmjUEST   OF^TFRtCA.  85 

was  at  once  betrayed  to  him  by  its  Roman  inhabitants. 
From  thence  he  advanced  cautiously  along  the  coast, 
meeting-  with  no  opposition  ;  for  the  incapable  Ge- 
limer  had  been  caught  unprepared,  and  was  still  en- 
gaged in  calling  in  his  scattered  warriors.  It  was  not 
till  he  had  approached  within  ten  miles  of  Carthage 
that  Belisarius  was  attacked  by  the  Vandals.  After 
a  hard  struggle  he  defeated  them,  and  the  city  fell 
into  his  hands  next  day.  The  provincials  were  de- 
lighted at  the  rout  of  their  masters,  and  welcomed 
the  imperial  army  with  joy  ;  there  was  neither  riot 
nor  pillage,  and  Carthage  had  not  the  aspect  of  a 
conquered  town. 

Calling  up  his  last  reserves,  G^limer  made  one  more 
attempt  to  try  the  fortunes  of  war.  He  advanced  on 
Carthage,  and  was  met  by  Belisarius  at  Tricameron, 
on  the  road  to  Bulla.  Again  the  day  went  against 
him;  his  army  broke  up,  his  last  fortresses  threw 
open  their  gates,  and  there  was  an  end  of  the  Vandal 
kingdom.  It  had  existed  just  104  years,  since 
Genseric  entered  Africa  in  A.D   429. 

Gelimer  took  refuge  for  a  time  with  the  Moorish 
tribes  who  dwelt  in  the  fastnesses  of  Mount  Atlas. 
But  ere  long  he  resolved  to  surrender  himself  to 
Belisarius,  whose  humanity  was  as  well  known  as  his 
courage.  He  sent  to  Carthage  to  say  that  he  was 
about  to  give  himself  up,  and — so  the  story  goes — 
asked  but  for  three  things  :  a  harp,  to  which  to 
chant  a  dirge  he  had  written  on  the  fate  of  himself 
and  the  Vandal  race  ;  a  sponge,  to  wipe  away  his 
tears  ;  and  a  loaf,  a  delicacy  he  had  not  tasted  ever 
since  he  had  been  forced  to  partake  of  the  unsavoury 


86  yUSTINIAN'S   FOREIGN   COXQUESTS. 

food  of  the  Moors  !  Bclisarius  received  Gelimer  with 
kindness,  and  took  him  to  Constantinople,  along  with 
the  treasures  of  the  palace  of  Carthage,  which  in- 
cluded many  of  the  spoils  of  Rome  captured  by  the 
Vandals  eighty-six  years  before,  when  they  sacked 
the  imperial  city,  in  453.  It  is  said  that  among  these 
spoils  were  some  of  the  golden  vessels  of  the  Temple 
at  Jerusalem,  which  Titus  had  brought  in  triumph  to 


CAVALRY  SCOUTS. 

{From  a  Byza7itine  MS.) 

Rome,  and  which  Gaiseric  had  carried  from  Rome  to 
Carthage. 

The  triumphal  entry  of  Belisarius  into  Constanti- 
nople with  his  captives  and  his  spoils,  encouraged 
Justinian  to  order  instant  preparations  for  an  attack 
on  the  second  German  kingdom,  on  his  western 
frontier.  He  declared  war  on  the  wretched  King 
Theodahat  in  the  summer  of  A. D.  1^35,  using  as  his 
pretext  the  murder  of  Queen  Amalasuntha,  whom, 
as  we  have  already  said,  her  ungrateful   spouse   had 


THEODAHAT'S   AUGURY.  87 

first  imprisoned  and  then  strangled  within  a  year  of 
their  marriage. 

The  king  of  the  Goths,  whether  he  was  conscience- 
stricken  or  merely  cowardly,  showed  the  greatest 
terror  at  the  declaration  of  war.  He  even  wrote  to 
Constantinople  offering  to  resign  his  crown,  if  the 
Emperor  would  guarantee  his  life  and  his  private 
property.  Meanwhile  he  consulted  soothsayers  and 
magicians  about  his  prospects,  for  he  was  as  super- 
stitious as  he  was  incompetent.  Procopius  tells  us 
a  strange  tale  of  the  doings  of  a  Jewish  magician  of 
note,  to  whom  Theodahat  applied.  He  took  thirty 
pigs — to  represent  unclean  Gentiles,  we  must  sup- 
pose— and  penned  them  in  three  styes,  ten  in  each. 
The  one  part  he  called  "Goths,"  the  second  "Italians," 
and  the  third  "  Imperialists."  He  left  the  beasts 
without  food  or  \vaterTor~ten  days,  and  bade  the  king 
visit  them  at  the  end  of  that  time,  and  take  augury 
from  their  condition.  When  Theodahat  looked  in  he 
found  all  but  two  of  the  "Goth"  pigs  dead,  and  half  of 
the  "  Italians,"  but  the  "  Imperialists,"  though  gaunt 
and  wasted,  were  all,  or  almost  all,  alive.  This  por- 
tent the  Jew  expounded  as  meaning  that  at  the  end 
of  the  approaching  war  the  Gothic  race  would  be  ex- 
terminated and  their  Italian  subjects  terribly  thinned, 
while  the  Imperial  troops  would  conquer,  though  with 
toil  and  difficulty. 

While  Theodahat  was  busying  himself  with  por- 
tents, actual  war  had  broken  out  on  the  lUyrian 
frontier  between  the  Goths  and  the  governor  of  Dal- 
matia.  There  was  no  use  in  making  further  offers  to 
Justinian,  and  the  king  of  Italy  had  to  face  the  situa- 
tion as  best  he  could. 


88  yUSTINIAN'S    FOREIGN   CONQUESTS, 

In  the  summer  of  535,  Belisarius  landed  in  Sicily, 
with  an  even  smaller  army  than  had  been  given  him 
to  conquer  Africa — only  3,000  Roman  troops,  all 
Isaurians,  and  4,500  barbarian  auxiliaries  of  different 
sorts.  Belisarius'  first  campaign  was  as  fortunate  as 
had  been  that  which  he  had  waged  against  Gelimer. 
All  the  Sicilian  towns  threw  open  their  gates  except 
Palermo,  where  there  was  a  considerable  Gothic  gar- 
son,  and  Palermo  fell  after  a  short  siege.  In  six 
'months  the  whole  island  was  in  the  hands  of 
Belisarius. 

Theodahat  seemed  incapable  of  defending  himself; 
he  fell  into  a  condition  of  abject  helplessness,  which 
so  provoked  his  warlike  subjects,  that  when  the  news 
came  that  Belisarius  had  crossed  over  into  Italy  and 
taken  Rhegium,  they  rose  and  slew  him.  In  his  stead 
the  army  of  the  Goths  elected  as  their  king  Witiges,  a 
middle-aged  warrior,  well  known  for  personal  courage 
and  integrity,  but  quite  incompetent  to  face  the  im- 
pending storm. 

After  the  fall  of  Rhegium,  Belisnrius  marched 
rapidly  on  Naples,  meeting  no  opposition  ;  for  the 
Goths  were  very  thinly  scattered  through  Southern 
Italy,  and  had  not  even  enough  men  to  garrison  the 
Lucanian  and  Calabrian  fortresses.  Naples  was 
taken  b\-  surprise,  the  Imperialists  finding  their  way 
within  the  walls  by  crawling  up  a  disused  aqueduct. 
After  this  important  conquest,  Belisarius  made  for 
Rome,  though  his  forces  were  reduced  to  a  mere 
handful  by  the  necessity  of  leaving  garrisons  in  his 
late  conquests.  King  Witiges  made  no  effort  to  obstruct 
his  approach.     He  had  received  news  that  the  Franks 


THE   GOTHS    BESIEGE   ROME.  89 

were  threatening  an  evasion  of  Northern  Italy,  and 
went  north  to  oppose  an  imaginary  danger  in  the 
Alps,  when  he  should  have  been  defending  the  line 
of  the  Tiber.  Having  staved  off  the  danger  of  a 
Prankish  war  by  ceding  Provence  to  King  Theuderic, 
Witiges  turned  back,  only  to  learn  that  Rome  was 
now  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  troops  of  Leu- 
daris,  the  Gothic  general,  who  had  been  left  with 
4,000  men  to  defend  the  city,  had  been  struck  with 
panic  at  the  approach  of  Belisarius,  and  were  cowardly 
and  idiotic  enough  to  evacuate  it  without  striking  a 
blow.  Five  thousand  men  had  sufficed  to  seize  the 
ancient  capital  of  the  world  !     [December,  536.] 

Next  spring  King  WitigeS'  came  down  with  the 
main  army  of  the  Goths — more  than  100,000  strong 
— and  laid  siege  to  Rome.  The  defence  of  the  town 
by  Belisarius  and  his  very  inadequate  garrison  forms 
the  most  interesting  episode  in  the  Italian  war.  For 
more  than  a  year  the  Ostrogoths  lay  before  its  walls, 
essaying  every  device  to  force  an  entry.  They  tried 
open  storm  ;  they  endeavoured  to  bribe  traitors  within 
the  city  ;  they  strove  to  creep  along  the  bed  of  a  dis- 
used aqueduct,  as  Belisarius  had  done  a  year  before 
at  Naples.  All  was  in  vain,  though  the  besiegers 
outnumbered  the  garrison  twenty-fold,  and  exposed 
their  lives  with  the  same  recklessness  that  their  an- 
cestors had  shown  in  the  invasion  of  the  empire  a 
hundred  years  back.  The  scene  best  remembered  in 
the  siege  was  the  simultaneous  assault  on  five  points 
in  the  wall,  on  the  21st  of  March,  537.  Three  of  the 
attacks  were  beaten  back  with  ease  ;  but  near  the 
Praenestine  Gate,  at  the  south-east  of  the  city,  one 


go  yUSTINIAN  S    FOREIGN    CONQUESTS, 

storming  party  actually  forced  its  way  within  the  walls, 
and  had  to  be  beaten  out  by  sheer  hard  fighting  ;  and 
at  the  mausoleum  of  Hadrian,  on  the  north-west, 
another  spirited  combat  took  place.  Hadrian's  tomb 
— a  great  quadrangular  structure  of  white  marble, 
300  feet  square  and  85  feet  high — was  surmounted 
by  one  of  the  most  magnificent  collections  of  statuary 
in  ancient  Rome,  including  four  great  equestrian 
statues  of  emperors  at  its  corners.  The  Goths,  with 
their  ladders,  swarmed  at  the  foot  of  the  tomb  in  such 
numbers,  that  the  arrows  and  darts  of  the  defenders 
were  insufficient  to  beat  them  back.  Then,  as  a  last 
resource,  the  Imperialists  tore  down  the  scores  of 
statues  which  adorned  the  mausoleum,  and  crushed 
the  mass  of  assailants  beneath  a  rain  of  marble  frag- 
ments. Two  famous  antiques,  that  form  the  pride  of 
modern  galleries — the  "  Dancing  Faun  "  at  Florence, 
and  the  "  Barberini  Faun  "  at  Munich — were  found,  a 
thousand  years  later,  buried  in  the  ditch  of  the  tomb 
of  Hadrian,  and  must  have  been  among  the  missiles 
employed  against  the  Goths.  The  rough  usage  which 
they  then  received  proved  the  means  of  preserving 
them  for  the  admiration  of  the  modern  world. 

A  year  and  nine  days  after  he  had  formed  the  siege 
of  Rome,  the  unlucky  Witiges  had  to  abandon  it. 
His  army,  reduced  by  sword  and  famine,  had  given 
up  all  hope  of  success,  and  news  had  just  arrived  that 
the  Imperialists  had  launched  a  new  army  against 
Ravenna,  the  Gothic  capital.  Belisarius,  indeed,  had 
just  received  a  reinforcement  of  6,000  or  7,000  men, 
and  had  wisely  sent  a  considerable  force,  under  an 
officer  named  John,  to  fall  on  the  Adriatic  coast. 


BELISARWS    TAKES    RAVEXNA.  9I 

The  scene  of  the  war  was  now  transported  further 
to  the  north;  but  its  character  still  remained  the  same. 
The  Romans  gained  territory,  the  Goths  lost  it. 
Firmly  fixed  at  Ancona  and  Rimini  and  Osimo,  Beli- 
sarius  gradually  forced  his  way  nearer  to  Ravenna, 
and,  in  A.D.  540  laid  siege  to  it.  Witiges,  blockaded 
by  Belisarius  in  his  capital,  made  no  such  skilful 
defence  as  did  his  rival  at  Rome  three  years  before. 
To  add  to  his  troubles,  the  Franks  came  down  into 
Northern  Italy,  and  threatened  to  conquer  the  valley 
of  the  Po,  the  last  Gothic  stronghold.  Witiges  then 
made  proposals  for  submission  ;  but  Belisarius  refused 
to  grant  any  terms  other  than  unconditional  sur- 
render, though  his  master  Justinian  was  ready  to 
acknowledge  Witiges  as  vassal- king  in  Trans-Padane 
Italy.  Famine  drove  Ravenna  to  open  its  gates,  and 
the  Goths,  enraged  at  their  imbecile  king,  and  struck 
with  admiration  for  the  courage  and  generosity  of  Beli- 
sarius, offered  to  make  their  conqueror  Emperor  of 
the  West.  The  loyal  general  refused  ;  but  bade  the 
Goths  disperse  each  to  his  home,  and  dwell  peaceably 
for  the  future  as  subjects  of  the  empire.  [May,  540 
A.D.]  He  himself,  taking  the  great  Gothic  treasure- 
hoard  from  the  palace  of  Theodoric,  and  the  captive 
Witiges,  sailed  for  Constantinople,  and  laid  his 
trophies  at  his  master's  feet. 

Italy  now  seemed  even  as  Africa  ;  only  Pavia  and 
Verona  were  still  held  by  Gothic  garrisons,  and  when 
he  sailed  home,  Belisarius  deemed  his  work  so  nearly 
done,  that  his  lieutenants  would  suffice  to  crush  out 
the  last  embers  of  the  strife.  He  himself  was  re- 
quired in  the  East,  for  a  new-  Persian  war  with  Chos- 


92  yUSTINIAN  S    FOREIGN   CONQUESTS. 

roes,  son  of  Kobad,  was  on  the  eve  of  breaking  out. 
But  things  were  not  destined  to  end  so.  At  the  last 
moment  the  Goths  found  a  king  and  a  hero  to  rescue 
them,  and  the  conquest  of  Italy  was  destined  to  be 
deferred  for  twelve  years  more.  Two  ephemeral 
rulers  reigned  for  a  few  months  at  Pavia,  and  came 
to  bloody  ends  ;  but  their  successor  was  Baduila,^  the 
noblest  character  of  the  sixth  century — "  the  first 
knight  of  the  Middle  Ages,"  as  he  has  been  called. 
When  the  generals  of  Justinian  marched  against 
him,  to  finish  the  war  by  the  capture  of  Verona  and 
Pavia,  he  v/on  over  them  the  first  victory  that  the  Goths 
had  obtained  since  their  enertiies  landed  in  Italy.  .  This 
was  followed  by  two  more'  successes  ;  the  scattered 
armies  of  Witiges  rallied /round  the  banner  of  the 
new  king,  and  at  once  /the  cities  of  Central  and 
Southern  Italy  began  to  fail  back  into  Gothic  hands, 
with  the  same  rapidity  with  which  they  had  yielded 
to  Belisarius.  The  fact  was,  that  the  war  had  been 
a  cruel  strain  on  the  Italians,  and  that  the  imperial 
governors,  and  still  more  their  fiscal  agents,  or  "  logo- 
thetes,"  had  become  unbearably  oppressive.  Italy 
had  lived  through  the  fit  of  enthusiasm  with  wiiich  it 
had  received  the  armies  of  Justinian,  and  was  now 
regretting  the  days  of  Theodoric  as  a  long-lost  golden 
age.  Most  of  its  cities  were  soon  in  Baduila's  hands ; 
the  Imperialists  retained  only  tlie  districts  round  Rome, 
Naples,  Otranto,  and  Ravenna,  Of  Naples  they  were 
soon  deprived.     [B.C.  543.]     Baduila  invested  it,  and 

^  The  king's  real  name  was  Raduila,  as  shown  on  his  coin'^,  and 
recoided  by  some  historians,  but  Imperialist  writers  always  call  him 
Tolila,  which  seems  to  have  been  a  nickname. 


BADUILA    C0.\QUI^:RS   ITALY.  93 

ere  long  constrained  it  to  surrender.  He  treated  the 
inhabitants  with  a  kindness  and  consideration  which 
no  Roman  general,  except  Belisarius,  had  ever  dis- 
played. A  speech  which  he  delivered  to  his  generals 
soon  after  this  success  deserves  a  record,  as  showing 
the  character  of  the  man.  A  Gothic  warrior  had 
been  convicted  of  violating  the  daughter  of  a  Roman. 
Baduila  condemned  him  to  death.  His  officers  came 
round  him  to  plead  for  the  soldier's  life.  He  an- 
swered them  that  they  must  choose  that  day  whether 
they  preferred  to  save  one  man's  life  or  the  life  of  the 
Gothic  race.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  as  they 
knew  well,  the  Goths  had  brave  soldiers,  famous 
generals,  countless  treasure,  horses,  weapons,  and  all 
the  forts  of  Italy.  And  yet  under  Theodahat — a 
man  who  loved  gold  better  than  justice — they  had  so 
angered  God  by  their  unrighteous  lives,  that  all  the 
troubles  of  the  last  ten  years  had  come  upon  them. 
Now  God  seemed  to  have  avenged  Himself  on  them 
enough.  He  had  begun  a  new  course  with  them,  and 
they  must  begin  a  new  course  with  Him,  and  justice 
was  the  only  path.  As  for  the  present  criminal  being 
a  valiant  hero,  let  them  know  that  the  unjust  man 
and  the  ravisher  was  never  brave  in  fight ;  but  that, 
according  to  a  man's  life,  such  was  his  luck  in  battle. 
Such  was  the  justice  of  Baduila  ;  and  it  seemed  as 
if  his  dream  was  scbout  to  come  true,  and  that  the 
regenerate  Goths  would  win  back  all  that  they  had 
lost.  Ere  long  he  was  at  the  gates  of  Rome,  prepared 
to  essay,  with  15,000  men,  what  Witiges  had  failed 
to  do  with  100,000.  Lest  all  his  Italian  conquests 
should  be   lost,  Justinian  was   obliged   to  send  back 


94  yUSTINIAN'S   FOREIGN   CONQUESTS. 

Belisarius,  for  no  one  else  could  hold  back  the  Goths. 
But  Belisarius  was  ill-supplied  with  men  ;  he  had 
fallen  into  disfavour  at  Court,  and  the  imperial 
ministers  stinted  him  of  troops  and  money.  Unable 
to  relieve  Rome,  he  had  to  wait  at  Portus,  by  the 
mouth  of  the  Tiber,  watching  for  a  chance  to  enter 
the  city.  That  chance  he  never  got.  The  famine- 
strickxn  Romans,  angry  with  the  cruel  and  avaricious 
Bessas,  who  commanded  the  garrison,  began  to  long 
for  the  victory  of  their  enemy  ;  and  one  night  some 
traitors  opened  the  Asinarian  Gate,  and  let  in  Bad- 
uila  and  his  Goths.  The  King  thought  that  his 
troubles  were  over  ;  he  assembled  his  chiefs,  and  bade 
them  observe  how,  in  the  time  of  Witiges,  7,000 
Greeks  had  conquered,  and  robbed  of  kingdom  and 
liberty,  100,000  well-armed  Goths.  But  now  that 
they  were  few,  poor,  and  wretched,  the  Goths  had 
conquered  more  than  20,000  of  the  enemy.  And 
why?  Because  of  old  they  looked  to  anything  rather 
than  justice  :  they  had  sinned  against  each  other  and 
the  Romans.  Therefore  they  must  choose  hence- 
forth, and  be  just  men  and  have  God  v.'ith  them,  or 
unjust  and  have  God  against  them. 

Baduila  had  determined  to  do  that  which  no  general 
since  Hannibal  had  contemplated  :  he  would  destroy 
Rome,  and  with  it  all  the  traditions  of  the  world- 
empire  of  the  ancient  city — to  him  they  seemed  but 
snares,  tending  to  corrupt  the  mind  of  the  Goths. 
The  people  he  sent  away  unharmed — they  were  but  a 
few  thousand  left  after  the  horrors  of  the  famine  dur- 
ing the  siege.  But  he  broke  down  the  walls,  and  dis- 
mantled the  palaces  and  arsenals.     For  a  few  weeks 


DEATH    OF   KING    BADUILA.  95 

Rome  was  a  deserted  city,  given  up  to  the  wolf  and 
the  owl  [a.d.  550]. 

For  eleven  unquiet  years,  Baduila,  the  brave  and 
just,  ruled  Italy,  holding  his  own  against  Beh'sarius,  till 
the  great  general  was  called  home  by  some  wretched 
court  intrigue.  But  presently  Justinian  gathered 
another  army,  more  numerous  than  any  that  Beli- 
sarius  had  led,  and  sent  it  to  Italy,  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  eunuch  Narses.  It  was  a  strange  choice 
that  made  the  chamberlain  into  a  general';  but  it 
succeeded.  Narses  marched  round  the  head  of  the 
Adriatic,  and  invaded  Italy  from  the  north.  Bad- 
uila went  forth  to  meet  him  at  Tagina,  in  the  Apen- 
nines. For  a  long  day  the  Ostrogothic  knights  rode 
again  and  again  into  the  Imperialist  ranks  ;  but  all 
their  furious  charges  failed.  At  evening  they  reeled 
back  broken,  and  their  king  received  a  mortal  wound 
in  the  flight  [A.D.  553]. 

With  the  death  of  Baduila,  it  was  all  up  with  the 
Goths  ;  their  hero's  knightly  courage  and  kingly 
righteousness  had  not  sufficed  to  save  them  from  the 
same  doom  which  had  overtaken  the  Vandals.  The 
broken  army  made  one  last  stand  in  Campania,  under 
a  chief  named  Teia  ;  but  he  was  slain  in  battle  at 
Nuceria,  and  then  the  Goths  surrendered.  They 
told  Narses  that  the  hand  of  God  was  against  them  ; 
they  would  quit  Italy,  and  go  back  to  dwell  in  the 
north,  in  the  land  of  their  fathers.  So  the  poor 
remnant  of  the  conquering  Ostrogoths  marched  off, 
crossed  the  Po  and  the  Alps,  and  passed  away  into 
oblivion  in  the  northern  darkness.  The  scheme  of 
Justinian  was  complete.     Italy  was  his  ;  but  an  Italy 


96 


yUSTINIAN'S    FOREIGN    CONQUESTS. 


SO  wasted  and  depopulated,  that  the  traces  of  the 
ancient  Roman  rule  had  almost  vanished.  **  The 
land,"  says  a  contemporary  chronicler,  "  was  reduced 
to  primeval  solitude  " — war  and  famine  had  swept  it 
bare. 

It  is  strange  to  find  that  the  Emperor  was  not  tired 


DR'IAIIS    OF    ST.    SOPHIA. 

out  by  waging  this  desperate  war  with  the  Goths  ; 
the  moment  it  ended  he  began  to  essay  another 
western  conquest.  There  was  civil  war  in  Spain, 
and,  taking  advantage  of  it,  Liberius,  governor  of 
Africa,  landed  in  Andalusia,  and  rapidly  took  the 
great  towns  of  the  south  of  the  peninsula — Cordova, 


yUSTINIAN'iS    SPANISH    C0.\  QUESTS. 


97 


Cartagena,  Malaga,  and  Cadiz.  The  factious  Visi- 
goths then  dropped  their  strife,  united  in  arms  under 
King  Athangild,  and  checked  the  further  progress  of 
the  imperial  arms.  But  a  long  slip  of  the  lost  terri- 
tory was  not  recovered  by  them.  Justinian  and  his 
successors,  down  to  A.D.  623,  reigned  over  the  greater 
part  of  the  sea-coast  of  Southern  Spain. 


VIII. 

THE   END  OF  JUSTINIAN'S   REIGN. 

The  slackness  with  which  the  generals  of  Justinian 
prosecuted  the  Gothic  war  in  the  period  between  the 
triumph  of  Belisarius  at  Ravenna  in  A.D.  540,  and 
the  final  conquest  of  Italy  in  A.D.  553,  is  mainly  to 
be  explained  by  t-:e  fact"  that,  just  at  the  moment  ot 
the  fall  of  Ravenna,  the  empire  became  involved  in 
a  new  struggle  with  its  great  Eastern  neighbour. 
Chosroes  of  Persia  was  seriously  alarmed  at  the 
African  and  Italian  conquests  of  Justinian,  and 
remembered  that  he  too,  as  well  as  the  Vandals  and 
Goths,  was  in  possession  of  provinces  that  had 
formerly  been  Roman,  and  might  one  day  be  re- 
claimed by  tlie  Emperor.  He  determined  to  strike 
before  Justinian  had  got  free  from  his  Italian  war, 
and  while  the  flower  of  the  Roman  army  was  still  in 
the  West  Using  as  his  pretext  for  war  some  petty 
quarrels  between  two  tribes  of  Arabs,  subject  res- 
pectively to  Persia  and  the  empire,  he  declared  war 
in  the  spring  of  A.D.  540.  Justinian,  as  the  king 
had  hoped,  was  caught  unprepared  :  the  army  of  the 
Euphrates  was  so  weak  that  it  never  dared  face  the 


FALL    OF  ANTIOCH.  99 

Persians  in  the  field,  and  the  opening  of  the  war  was 
fraught  with  such  a  disaster  to  the  empire  as  had 
not  been  known  since  the  battle  of  Adrianople,  more 
than  a  hundred  and  sixty  years  before.  Avoiding 
the  fortresses  of  Mesopotamia,  Chosroes,  who  led  his 
army  in  person,  burst  into*  Northern  Syria.  His 
main  object  was  to  strike  a  blow  at  Antioch,  the 
metropolis  of  the  East,  a  rich  city  that  had  not  seen 
an  enemy  for  nearly  three  centuries,  and  was 
reckoned  safe  from  all  attacks  owing  to  its  distance 
from  the  frontier.  Antioch  had  a  strong  garrison  of 
6,000  men  and  the  "  Blues '''  and  "  Greens "  of  its 
circus  factions  had  taken  arms  to  support  the  regular 
troops.  But  the  commander  was  incompetent,  and 
the  fortifications  had  been  somewhat  neglected  of 
late.  After  a  sharp  struggle,  Chosroes  took  the  town 
by  assault ;  the  garrison  cut  its  way  out,  and  many  of 
the  inhabitants  escaped  with  it,  but  the  city  was 
sacked  from  cellar  to  garret  and  thousands  of 
captives  were  dragged  away  by  the  Persians. 
Chosroes  planted  them  by  the  Euphrates  —  as 
Nebuchadnezzar  had  done  of  old  with  the  Jews — 
and  built  for  them  a  city  which  he  called  Chosro- 
antiocheia,  blending  his  own  name  with  that  of  their 
ancient  abode. 

This  horrible  disaster  to  the  second  city  of  the 
Roman  East  roused  ail  Justinian's  energy  ;  neglect- 
ing the  Italian  war,  he  sent  all  his  disposable  troops 
to  the  Euphrates  frontier,  and  named  Belisarius 
himself  as  the  chief  commander.  After  this,  Chosroes 
won  no  such  successes  as  had  distinguished  his  first 
campaign.     Having   commenced    an    attack    on   the 


lOO  THE   END   OF  JUSTINIAN's   REIGN. 

Roman  border  fortresses  in  Colchis,  far  to  the  north, 
he  was  drawn  home  by  the  news  that  Belisarius  had 
invaded  Assyria  and  was  besieging  Nisibis.  On  the 
approach  of  the  king  the  imperial  general  retired, 
but  his  manoeuvre  had  cost  the  Persian  the  fruits^f 
a  whole  summer's  preparation,  and  the  year  'fefc  541 
ended  without  serious  fighting.  In  the  next  spring 
very  similar  operations  followed  :  Belisarius  defended 
the  line  of  the  Euphrates  with  success,  and  the 
invaders  retired  after  having  reduced  one  single 
Mesopotamian  fortress.  The  war  lingered  for  two 
years  more,  till  Chosroes,  disgusted  at  the  ill-success 
of  all  his  efforts  since  his  first  success  at  Antioch, 
and  more  especially  humiliated  by  a  bloody  repulse 
from  the  walls  of  Edessa,  consented  td  treat  for 
peace  [a.D.  545].  He  gave  up  his  conquests — which 
were  of  small  importance — but  regarded  the  honours 
of  the  war  as  being  his  own,  because  Justinian 
consented  to  pay  him  2,000  lbs.  of  gold  [i^i 08,000] 
on  the  ratification  of  the  treaty.  One  curious  clause 
was  inserted  in  the  document — though  hostilities 
ceased  everywhere  else,  the  rights  of  the  two 
monarchs  to  the  suzerainty  of  the  kingdom  of 
Lazica,  on  the  Colchian  frontier,  hard  by  the  Black 
Sea,  were  left  undefined.  For  no  less  than  seven 
years  a  sort  of  by-war  was  maintained  in  this  small 
district,  while  peace  prevailed  on  all  other  points  of 
the  Perso-Roman  frontier.  It  was  not  till  A.D.  556, 
after  both  parties  had  wasted  much  treasure  and 
many  men  on  the  unprofitable  contest,  that  Chosroes 
resigned  the  attempt  to  hold  the  small  and  rugged 
mountain  kingdom  of  the  Lazi,  and  resigned  it  to 


5     J 


THE   GREAT   PLAGUE,  lOI 

Justinian  on  the  promise  of  an  annual  grant  of 
i^ 1 8,000  as  compensation  money. 

But  although  Justinian  had  brought  his  second 
Persian  war  to  a  not  unsuccessful  end,  the  empire 
had  come  badly  out  of  the  struggle,  and  was  by 
556  falling  into  a  condition  of  incipient  disorder  and 
decay.  This  was  partly  caused  by  the  reckless 
financial  expedients  of  the  Emperor,  who  taxed  the 
provinces  with  unexampled  rigour  while  forced  to 
maintain  at  once  a  Persian  and  an  Italian  war. 

The  main  part  of  the  damage,  however,  was 
wrought  by  other  than  human  means.  In  A.D.  542 
there  broke  out  in  the  empire  a  plague  such  as  had 
not  been  known  for  three  hundred  years — the  last 
similar  visitation  had  fallen  in  the  reign  of  Tre- 
bonianus  Gallus,  far  back  in  the  third  century.  This 
pestilence  was  one  of  the  epoch-making  events  in 
the  history  of  the  empire,  as  great  a  landmark  as  the 
Black  Death  in  the  history  of  England.  The  details 
which  Procopius  gives  us  concerning  its  progress  and 
results  leave  no  doubt  that  it  operated  more  power- 
fully than  any  other  factor  in  that  weakening  of  the 
empire  which  is  noticeable  in  the  second  half  of  the 
sixth  century.  When  it  reached  Constantinople, 
5,000  persons  a  day  are  said  to  have  fallen  victims 
to  it.  All  customary  occupations  ceased  in  the  city, 
and  the  market-place  was  empty  save  for  corpse- 
bearers.  In  many  houses  not  a  single  soul  remained 
alive,  and  the  government  had  to  take  special 
measures  for  the  burial  of  neglected  corpses.  "  The 
disease,"  says  the  chronicler,  "did  not  attack  any 
particular  race  or  class  of   men,  nor  prevail  in  any 


102  THE    END    OF   yUSTINIANS   REIGN. 

particular  region,  nor  confine  itself  to  any  period  of 
the  year.  Summer  or  winter,  North  or  South,  Greek 
or  Arabian,  washed  or  unwashed — of  such  distinctions 
the  plague  took  no  account.  A  man  might  climb  to 
the  hill-top,  and  it  was  there  ;  he  might  retire  to  the 
depths  of  a  cavern,  and  it  was  there  also."  The 
only  marked  characteristic  of  its  ravages  that  the 
chronicler  could  find  was  that,  "  whether  by  chance 
or  providential  design,  it  strictly  spared  the  most 
wicked."  ^ 

Justinian  himself  fell  ill  of  the  plague  :  he  re- 
covered, but  was  never  his  old  self  again.  Though 
he  persevered  inflexibly  to  his  last  day  in  his  scheme 
for  the  reconquest  of  the  empire,  yet  he  seems  to 
have  declined  in  energy,  and  more  especially  to  have 
lost  that  power  of  organization,  which  had  been  his 
most  marked  characteristic.  The  chroniclers  com- 
plain that  he  had  grown  less  hopeful  and  less 
masterful.  "After  achieving  so  much  in  the  days 
of  his  vigour,  when  he  entered  into  the  last  stage 
of  his  life  he  seemed  to  weary  of  his  labours,  and 
preferred  to  create  discord  among  his  foes  or  to 
mollify  them  with  gifts,  instead  of  trusting  to  his 
arms  and  facing  the  dangers  of  war.  So  he  allowed 
his  troops  to  decline  in  numbers,  because  he  did  not 
expect  to  require  their  services.  And  his  ministers, 
who  collected  his  taxes  and  maintained  his  armies 
were  affected  with  the  same  indifference."  ^ 

One  feature  of  the  Emperor's  later  years  was  that 
he    took    more    and    more    interest    in    theological 

*  Bury's  "  Later  Roman  Empire,"  i.  402. 
'  Agathias. 


yUSTINTAN   AS   THEOLOGIAN,  IO3 

disputes,  even  to  the  neglect  of  State  business.  The 
Church  question  of  the  day  was  the  dispute  on 
Monophysitism,  the  heresy  which  denied  the  existence 
both  of  a  human  and  a  divine  nature  in  Our  Lord. 
Justinian  was  not  a  monophysite  himself,  but  wished 
to  unify  the  sect  with  the  main  body  of  the  Church 
by  edicts  of  comprehension,  which  forbade  the 
discussion  of  the  subject,  and  spent  much  trouWe 
in  coercing  prelates  orthodox  and  heretical  into  a 
reconciliation  which  had  no  chance  of  permanent 
success.  His  chief  difficulty  was  with  the  bishops 
of  Rome.  He  forced  Pope  Vigilius  to  come  to 
Constantinople,  and  kept  him  under  constraint  for 
many  months,  till  he  signed  all  that  was  required  of 
him  [a.d.  554].  The  only  result  was  to  win  Vigilius 
the  reputation  of  a  heretic,  and  to  cause  a  growing 
estrangement  between  East  and  West. 

The  gloom  of  Justinian's  later  years  was  even  more 
marked  after  the  death  of  his  wife  ;  Theodora  died 
in  A.D.  548,  six  years  after  the  great  plague,  and  it 
may  be  that  her  loss  was  no  less  a  cause  of  the 
diminished  energy  of  his  later  years  than  was  his 
enfeebled  health.  Her  bold  and  adventurous  spirit 
must  have  buoyed  him  up  in  many  of  the /more 
difficult  enterprizes  of  the  first  half  of  hig^  reign. 
After  her  death,  Justinian  seems  to  have  trusted  no 
one :  his  destined  successor,  Justinus,  son  of  his 
sister,  was  kept  in  the  background,  and  no  great 
minister  seems  to  have  possessed  his  confidence. 
Even  Belisarius,  the  first  and  most  loyal  soldier  of 
the  empire,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  trusted  :  in 
the  second  Gothic  war  the  Emperor  stinted  him  of 


104  ^^^    ^^^    O^   JUSTINIAN  S    KEIGN. 

troops  and  hampered  him  with  colleagues.  At  last 
he  was  recalled  [a.D.  549]  and  sent  into  private  life, 
from  which  he  was  only  recalled  on  the  occurrence 
of  a  sudden  military  crisis  in  A.D.  558. 

V  This  crisis  was  a  striking  example  of  the  mis- 
management of  Justinian's  later  years.  A  nomad 
horde  from  the  South  Russian  steppes,  the  Cotrigur 
Huns,  had  crossed  the  frozen  Danube  at  mid-winter, 
when  hostilities  were  least  expected,  and  thrown 
themselves  on  the  Thracian  provinces.  The  empire 
had    150,000  men    under  arms   at  the   moment, 'but 

•  they  were  all  dispersed  abroad,  many  in  Italy,  others 
in  Africa,  others  in  Spain,  others  in  Colchis,  some  in 
the  Thebaid,  and  a  few  on  the  Mesopotamian  frontier. 
There  was  such  a  dearth  of  men  to  defend  the  home 
provinces  that  the  barbarians  rode  unhindered  ove>- 
the  whole  country  side  from  the  Danube  to  the 
Propontis  plundering  and  burning.  One  body,  only 
7,000  strong,  came  up  to  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
city  gates,  and  inspired  such  fear  that  the  Con- 
stantinopolitans  began  to  send  their  money  and 
church-plate  over  to  Asia.  Justinian  then  summoned 
Belisarius  from  his  retirement,  and-  placed  him  in 
command  of  what  troops  there  were  available — a 
single  regiment  of  300  veterans  from  Italy,  and 
the  "  Scholarian  guards,"  a  body  of  local  troops 
3,500  strong,  raised  in  the  city  and  entrusted  with 
the  charge  of  its  gates,  which  inspired  little  con- 
fidence as  its  members  were  allowed  to  practice  their 
trades  and  avocations  and  only  called  out  in  rotation 
for  occasional  service.  With  this  undisciplined  force, 
which  had   never  seen  war,   at   his    back,   Belisarius 


BELISARIUS    DEFEATS    THE   HUNS  I05 

contrived  to  beat  off  the  Huns.  He  led  them  to 
pursue  him  back  to  a  carefully  prepared  position, 
where  the  only  point  that  could  be  attacked  was 
covered  with  woods  and  hedges  on  either  side.  The 
untrustworthy  "  Scholarians  "  were  placed  on  the 
flanks,  where  they  could  not  be  seriously  molested, 
while  the  300  Italian  veterans  covered  the  one 
vulnerable  point.  The  Huns  attacked,  were  shot 
down  from  the  woods  and  beaten  off  in  front,  and 
fled  leaving  400  men  on  the  field,  while  the  Romans 
only  lost  a  few  wounded  and  not  a  single  soldier 
slain.  Thus  the  last  military  exploit  of  Belisarius 
preserved  the  suburbs  of  the  imperial  city  itself  from 
molestation  ;  after  defending  Old  Rome  in  his  prime 
he  saved  New  Rome  in  his  old  age. 

Even  this  last  service  did  not  prevent  Justinian 
from  viewing  his  great  servant  with  suspicion.  Four 
years  later  an  obscure  conspiracy  against  his  life  was 
discovered,  and  one  of  the  conspirators  name.d  Beli- 
sarius as  being  privy  to  the  plot.  The  old  emperor 
affected  to  believe  the  accusation,  sequestrated  the 
general's  property,  and  kept  him  under  surveillance 
for  eight  months.  Belisarius  was  then  acquitted  and 
restored  to  favour :  he  liv^d  two  years  longer,  and 
died  in  March,  565.^  The  ungrateful  master  whom 
he  had  served  so  well  followed  him  to  the  grave  nine 
months  later. 

Of  Justinian  as  conqueror  and  governor  we  have 

'  It  is  comforting  to  know  that  the  popular  legend  which  tells  how 
the  great  general  lived  in  poverty  and  disgrace,  begging  the  passer-by 
"dare  obolum  Belisario,"  and  dying  in  the  streets,  is  untrue.  But 
the  suspicious  emperor's  conduct  was  quite  unpardonable. 


I06  THE   END   OF  yUSTINIAN'S   REIGN. 

said  much.  But  there  remain  two  more  aspects  of 
his  life  which  deserve  notice — his  work  as  a  builder 
and  his  codification  of  the  laws.  From  the  days  of 
Diocletian  the  style  of  architecture  which  we  call 
Byzantine,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  had  been 
slowly  developing  from  the  old  classic  forms,  and 
many  of  the  emperors  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  cen- 
turies had  been  given  to  building.  But  no  previous 
monarch  had  combined  in  such  a  degree  as  did 
Justinian  the  will  and  the  power  to  launch  out.  into 
architectural  experiments.  He  had  at  his  disposal 
the  hoarded  treasures  of  Anastasius,  and  his  tastes 
were  as  magnificent  as  those  of  the  great  builders  of 
the  early  empire,  Augustus  and  Nero  and  Hadrian. 
All  over  the  empire  the  monuments  of  his  wealth  and  , 
taste  were  seen  in  dozens  of  churches,  halls  of  justice, 
monasteries,  forts,  hospitals,  and  colonnades.  The 
historian  Procopius  was  able  to  compose  a  considerable 
volume  entirely  on  the  subject  of  Justinian's  buildings, 
and  numbers  of  them  survive,  some  perfect  and  more 
in  ruins,  to  witness  to  the  accuracy  of  the  work.  Even 
in  the  more  secluded  or  outlying  portions  of  the 
empire,  any  fine  building  that  is  found  is,  in  two  cases 
out  of  three,  one  of  the  works  of  Justinian.  Not  merely 
great  centres  like  Constantinople  or  Jerusalem,  but 
out-of-the-way  tracts  in  Cappadocia  and  Isauria,  are 
full  of  his  buildings.  Even  in  the  newly-conquered 
Ravenna  his  great  church-^s  of  San  Vitale,  containing 
the  celebrated  mosaic  portraits  of  himself  and  his 
wife,  and  of  St.  Apollinare  in  the  suburb  of  Gassl*?, 
outshine  the  older  works  of  the  fifth-century  emperors 
and  of  the  Goth  Theodoric. 


BUILDING   OF  ST.    SOPHIA.  I07 

Justinian's  churches,  indeed,  are  the  best  known  of 
his  buildings.  In  Oriental  church-architecture  his 
reign  forms  a  landmark  :  up  to  his  time  Christian 
architects  had  still  been  using  two  patterns  copied 
straight  from  Old  Roman  models.  The  first  was  the 
round  domed  church,  whose  origin  can  be  traced  back 
to  such  Rorrian  originals  as  the  celebrated  Temple  of 
Vesta — of  such  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at 
Rome  may  serve  as  a  type.  The  second  was  the 
rectangular  church  with  .apses,  which  was  nothing 
more  than  an  adaptation  for  ecclesiastical  purposes 
of  the  Old  Roman  law-courts,  and  which  had  bor- 
rowed from  them  its  name  of  Basilica.  St.  Paul's 
Outside  the  Walls,  at  Rome  is  a  fair  specimen.  Jus- 
tinian brought  into  use  for  the  first  time  on  a 'large 
scale  the  combination  of  a  cruciform  ground-plan  and 
a  very  large  dome.  The  famous  Church  of  St.  Sophia 
may  serve  as  the  type  of  this  style.  The  great 
cathedral  of  Constantinople  had  already  been  burnt 
down  twice,  as  we  have  had  occasion  to  relate':  the 
first  time  on  the  eve  of  the  banishment  of  John 
Chrysostom,  the  second  in  the.  great  "  Nika  "  riot  of 
532.  Within  forty  days  of  its  destruction  Justinian 
had  commenced  preparations  for  rebuilding  it  as  a 
monument  of  his  triumph  in  the  civil  strife.  He 
chose  as  his  architect  Anthemius  of  Tralles,  the 
greatest  of  Byzantine  builders,  and  one  of  the  few 
whose  names  have  survived.  The  third  church  was 
different  in  plan  from  either  of  its  predecessors,  show- 
ing the  new  combination  which  we  have  already 
specified.  It  is  a  Greek  cross,  241  feet  long  and  224 
broad,  having  in  its  midst  a  vast  dome,  pierced  by  no 


PROCOPIUS   ON   ST.    SOPHIA,  IO9 

less  than  forty  windows,  light  and  airy  and  soaring 
180  feet  above  the  floor.  In  the  nave  the  aisles  and 
side  apses  are  parted  from  the  main  central  spaces  by 
magnificent  colonnades  of  marble  pillars,  the  majority 
of  verde  antique.  These  are  not  for  the  most  part  the 
work  of  Justinian's  day,  but  were  plundered  from  the 
chief  pagan  temples  of  Asia,  which  served  as  an 
inexhaustible  quarry  for  the  Christian  builder.  The 
whole  of  the  interior,  both  roof  and  dome,  was 
covered  with  gilding  or  mosaics,  which  the  Van- 
dalism of  the  Turks  has  covered  with  a  coat  of 
whitewash,  ^to  hide  the  representations  of  human 
forms  which  are  offensive  to  the  Moslems'  creed. 
Procopius  describes  the  church  with  enthusiasm,  and 
his  praises  are  well  justified — 

"  It  presents  a  most  glorious  spectacle,  extraordi- 
nary to  those  who  behold  it,  and  altogether  incredible 
to  those  who  know  it  by  report  only.  In  height  it 
rises  to  the  very  heavens,  and  overtops  the  neighbour- 
ing buildings  like  a  ship  anchored  among  them.  It 
towers  above  the  city  which  it  adorns,  and  from  it 
the  whole  of  Constantinople  can  be  beheld,  as  from  a 
watch-tower.  Its  breadth  and  length  are  so  judi- 
ciously chosen,  that  it  appears  both  broad  and  long 
without  disproportion.  For  it  excels  both  in  size 
and  harmony,  being  more  magnificent  than  ordinary 
buildings,  and  much  more  elegant  than  the  few  which 
approach  it  in  size.  Within  it  is  singularly  full  of 
light  and  sunshine  ;  you  would  declare  that  the  place 
is  not  lighted  from  without,  but  that  the  rays  are 
produced  within  itself,  such  an  abundance  of  light  is 


GALLERIES    OF    ST.    SOPHIA. 


yUSTINIAN  S   FORTS.  Ill 

poured  into  it.  The  gilded  ceiling  adds  glory  to  its 
interior,  though  the  light  reflected  upon  the  gold  from 
the  marble  surpasses  it  in  beauty.  Who  can  tell  of 
the  splendour  of  the  columns  and  marbles  with  which 
the  church  is  adorned  ?  One  would  think  that  one 
had  come  upon  a  meadow  full  of  flowers  in  bloom — 
one  wonders  at  the  purple  tints  of  some,  the  green  of 
others,  the  glowing  red  and  glittering  white,  and 
those,  too,  which  nature,  like  a  painter,  has  marked 
with  the  strongest  contrasts  of  colour.  Moreover,  it 
is  impossible  accurately  to  describe  the  treasures  of 
gold  and  silver  plate  and  gems  which  the  Emperor 
has  presented  to  the  church  :  the  Sanctuary  alone 
contains  forty  thousand  pounds  weight  of  silver." 

Justinian  was  almost  as  great  a  builder  of  forts  as 
of  churches,  but  his  military  works  have  for  the  most 
part  disappeared.  It  may  give  some  idea  of  his 
energy  in  fortifying  the  frontiers  when  we  state  that 
the  Illyrian  provinces  alone  were  protected  by  29^ 
forts,  of  which  Procopius  gives  a  list,  disposed  in  four 
successive  lines  from  the  Danube  back  to  the  Thessa- 
lian  hills.  Some  were  single  towers,  but  many  were 
elaborate  fortresses  with  outworks,  and  all  had  to  be 
protected  by  garrisons. 

Thus  much  of  Justinian  as  builder :  space  fails  to 
enumerate  a  tithe  of  his  works.  Of  his  great  legal 
achievement  we  must  speak  at  even  shorter  length. 
The  Roman  law,  as  he  received  it  from  his  prede- 
cessors was  an  enormous  mass  of  precedents  and 
decisions,  in  which  the  orjginal  basis  was  overlaid 
with   the    various   and    sometimes   contradictory   re- 


112  THE   END   OF   JUSTINIAN'S   REIGN. 

scripts  of  five  centuries  of  emperors.  Several  of  his 
predecessors,  and  most  especially  Theodosius  II,,  had 
endeavoured  to  codify  the  chaotic  mass  and  reduce  it 
to  order.  But  no  one  of  them  had  produced  a  code 
which  sufficed  to  bring  the  law  of  the  day  into  full 
accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  times.  It  was  no  mean 
work  to  bring  the  ancient  legislation  of  Rome,  from 
the  days  of  the  Twelve  Tables  down  to  the  days  of 
Justinian,  into  strict  and  logical  connection  with  the 
new  Christian  ideas  which  had  worked  their  way  into 
predominance  since  the  days  of  Constantine.  Much 
of  the  old  law  was  hopelessly  obsolete,  owing  to  the 
change  in  moral  ideas  which  Christianity  had  intro- 
duced, but  it  is  still  astonishing  to  see  how  much  of 
the  old  forms  of  the  times  of  the  early  empire 
survived  into  the  sixth  century.  Justinian  employe^' 
a  commission,  headed  by  the  clever  but  unpopular 
lawyer  Tribonian,  to  draw  up  his  new  code.  The 
work  was  done  for  ever  and  a  day,  and  his  "  Insti- 
tutes "  and  "  Pandects  "  were  the  last  revision  of  the 
Old  Roman  laws,  and  the^^starting-point  of  all 
systematic  legal  study  in  Europe,  when,  six  hundred 
years  later,  the  need  for  something  more  than  cus- 
tomary folk-right  began  to  make  itself  felt,  as  mediae- 
val civilization  evolved  itself  out  of  the  chaos  of  the 
dark  ages.  If  the  Roman  Empire  had  flourished  in 
the  century  after  Justinian  as  in  that  which  preceded 
him,  other  revisers  of  the  laws  might  have  produced 
compilations  that  would  have  made  the  "  Institutes" 
seem  out  of  date.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  decay 
and  chao's  followed  after  Justinian,  and  succeeding 
emperors    had    neither  the  need  nor  the   inclination 


IMMORTALITY   OF   JUSTINIAN. 


113 


to  do  his  work  over  again.  Hence  it  came  to  pass 
that  his  name  is  for  ever  associated  with  the  last 
great  revision  of  Roman  law,  and  that  he  himself 
went  down  to  posterity  as  the  greatest  of  legis- 
lators, destined  to  be  enthroned  by  Dante  in  one 
of  the  starry  thrones  of  his  "  Paradise,"  and  to  be 
worshipped  as  the  father  of  law  by  all  the  legists  of 
the  Renaissance. 


IX. 

THE   COMING   OF   THE   SLAVS. 

The  thirty  years  which  followed  the  death  of 
Justinian  are  covered  by  three  reigns,  those  of 
Justinus  IL  [565-578],  Tiberius  Constantinus  [578- 
582],  and  Maurice  [582-602].  These  three  emperors 
were  men  of  much  the  same  character  as  the  prede- 
cessors of  Justinian  ;  each  of  them  was  an  experienced 
official  of  mature  age,  who  was  selected  by  the  reign- 
ing emperor  as  his  most  worthy  successor.  Justinus 
was  the  favourite  nephew  of  Justinian,  and  had  served 
him  for  many  years  as  Curopalates,  or  Master  of  the 
Palace.  Tiberius  Constantinus  was  *'  Count  of  the 
Excubiti,"  a  high  Court  officer  in  the  suite  of  Justinus  : 
Maurice  again  served  Tiberius  as  "  Count  of  the 
Foederati,"  or  chief  of  the  Barbarian  auxiliaries.  They 
were  all  men  of  capacity,  and  strove  to  do  their  best 
for  the  empire :  historians  concur  in  praising  the 
justice  of  Justinus,  the  liberality  and  humanity  of 
Tiberius,  the  piety  of  Maurice.  Yet  under  them  the 
empire  was  steadily  going  down  hill  :  the  exhausting 
effects  of  the  reign  of  Justinian  were  making  them- 
selves felt  more  and  more,  and  at  the  end  of  the  reign 


V 


THE   LOMBARDS,  II 5 

of  Maurice  a  time  of  chaos  and  disaster  was  Impend- 
ing, which  came  to  a  head  under  his  successor. 

The  internal  causes  of  the  disaster  of  this  time  were 
the  weakening  of  the  empire  by  the  great  plague  of 
544  and  still  more  by  the  grinding  exactions  of 
Justinian's  financial  system.  Its  external  phenomena 
were  invasions  by  new  hordes  from  the  north,  com- 
bined with  long  and  exhausting  wars  with  Persia. 
The  virtues  of  the  emperors  seem,  to  have  helped 
them  little  :  Justin's  justice  made  him  feared  rather 
than  loved  ;  Tiberius's  liberality  rendered  him  popular, 
but  drained  the  treasury  ;  Maurice,  on  the  other  hand, 
who  was  economical  and  endeavoured  to  fill  the 
coffers  which  his  predecessors  had  emptied,  was  there- 
fore universally  condemned  as  avaricious. 

The  troubles  on  the  frontier  which  vexed  the  last 
thirty  years  of  the  sixth  century  were  due  to  three 
separate  sets  of  enemies — the  Lombards  in  Italy,  the 
Slavs  and  Avars  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  and  the 
Persians  in  the  East. 

The  empire  held  undisputed  possession  of  Italy  for 
no  more  than  fifteen  years  after  the  expulsion  of  the 
Ostrogoths  in  A.D.  553.  Then  a  new  enemy  came  in 
from  the  north,  following  tlie  same  path  that  had 
already  served  for  the  Visigoths  of  Alaric  and  the 
Ostrogoths  of  Theodoric,  The  new-com.ers  were  the 
race  of  the  Lombards,  who  had  hitherto  dwelt  in 
Hungary,  on  the  Middle  Danube,  and  had  more  fre- 
quently been  found  as  friends  than  as  foes  of  the 
Romans.  But  their  warlike  and  ambitious  King 
Alboin,  having  subdued  all  his  nearer  neighbours, 
began    to    covet    the    fertile    plains   of  Italy,  where 


Il6  YHE   COMING   OF    THE  SLAVS. 

he  saw  the  emperors  keeping  a  very  inadequate 
garrison,  now  that  the  Ostrogoths  were  finally 
driven  away.  In  A.D.  568  Alboin  and  his  hordes 
crossed  the  Alps,  bringing  with  them  wife  and  child, 
and  flocks  and  herds,  while  their  old  land  on 
the  Danube  was  abandoned  to  the  Avars.  The 
Lombards  took  possession  of  the  flat  country  in 
the  north  of  Italy,  as  far  as  the  line  of  the  Po,  with 
very  little  difficulty.  The  region,  we  are  told,  was  almost 
uninhabited  owing  to  the  combined  effects  of  the  great 
plague  and  the  Ostrogothic  war.  In  this  once  fertile 
and  populous,  but  now  deserted,  lowland,  the  Lom- 
bards settled  down  in  great  numbers.  There  they  have 
left  their  name  as  the  permanent  denomination  of  the 
plain  of  Lombardy.  Only  one  city,  the  strong  fortress 
of  Pavia,  held  out  against  them  for  long  ;  when  it  fell 
in  571,  after  a  gallant  defence  of  three  years,  Alboin 
made  it  his  capital,  instead  of  choosing  one  of  the 
larger  and  more  famous  towns  of  Milan  and  Verona, 
the  older  centres  of  life  in  the  land  he  had  conquered. 
After  subduing  Lombardy  the  king  pushed  forward 
into  Etruria,  and  overran  the  valley  of  the  Arno. 
But  in  the  midst  of  his  wars  he  was  cut  off,  if  the 
legend  tells  us  the  truth,  by  the  vengeance  of  his 
wife  Queen  Rosamund.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Cunimund,  King  of  the  Gepid<ne,  whom  Alboin  had 
slain  in  battle.  The  fallen  monarch's  skull  was,  by 
the  victor's  orders,  mounted  in  gold  and  fashioned  into 
a  cup.  Long  years  after,  amid  the  revelry  of  a  drink- 
ing bout,  Alboin  had  the  ghastly  cup  filled  with  wine, 
and  bade  his  wife  bear  it  around  to  his  chosen 
warriors.     The  queen  obeyed,  but  vowed  to  revenge 


LOMBARD    CONQUESTS    IN  ITALY.  II7 

herself  by  her  husband's  death.  By  the  sacrifice  of  her 
honour  she  bribed  Alboin's  armour-bearer  to  slay  his 
master  in  his  bed,  and  then  fled  with  him  to  Constan- 
tinople [a.D.  573]. 

But  the  death  of  Alboin  did  not  put  an  end  to  the 
Lombard  conquests  in  Italy.  The  kingdom,  indeed, 
broke  up  for  a  time  into  several  independent  duchies, 
but  the  Lombard  chiefs  continued  to  win  territory  from 
the  empire.  Two  of  them  founded  the  considerable 
duchies  of  Spoleto  and  Benevento,  the  one  in  Central, 
and  the  other  in  Southern  Italy.  These  states  sur- 
vived as  independent  powers,  but  the  rest  of  the 
Lombard  territories  were  reunited  by  King  Autharis, 
in  584,  and  he  and  his  immediate  successors  com- 
pleted the  conquest  of  Northern  Italy. 

Thus,  during  the  reigns  of  Justin,  Tiberius  II.,  and 
Maurice,  the  greater  part  of  Justinian's  Italian  con- 
quests were  lost,  and  formed  once  more  into  Teutonic 
states.  The  emperor  retained  only  two  large  stretches 
of  territory,  the  one  in  Central  Italy,  where  he  held  a 
broad  belt  of  land,  extending  right  across  the  penin- 
sula, from  Ravenna  and  Ancona  on  the  Adriatic,  to 
Rome  on  the  Tyrrhenian  Sea  ;  the  other  comprehend- 
ing the  extreme  south  of  the  land — the  "  toe  "  and 
"heel"  of  the  Italian  boot  —  and  comprising  the 
territory  of  Bruttium  and  the  Calabrian  ^  towns  of 
Taranto,  Brindisi,  and  Otranto.  Sardinia  and  Sicily 
were  also  left  untouched  by  the  Lombards,  who  never 
succeeded  in  building  a  fleet.  The  Roman  territory 
which  stretched  across  Central  Italy  cut  the  Lombards 

*  Calabria  is  here  used  in  its  old  sense,  meaning  South  Apulia,  and 
not  the  extreme  point  of  Italy  down  by  Reggio  and  Squillace. 


ii8 


THE    COMING    OF   THE   SLAVS. 


in  two,  the  king  ruling  the  main   body  of  them  in 
Tuscany  and  the  valley  of  the  Po ;  while  the  dukes 


CROSS  OF  JUSTIN  US  II.  (Fnvn  the   Vatican.) 

{From   ''  LArt  Byzantin,''     Par  C.  Bayet.     Paris,  Quantin,   1S83.) 

of   Spoleto    and    Benevento  maintained    an   isolated 
existence  in  the  south. 


RISE   OF   THE    PAPACY,  II9 

This  partition  of  Italy  between  the  Lombards  and 
the  empire  is  worth  remembering,  from  the  fact 
that  never  again,  till  our  own  day,  was  the  whole 
peninsula  gathered  into  a  single  state.  Not  till  1870, 
when  the  kingdom  of  United  Italy  was  completed  by 
the  conquest  of  Rome,  did  a  time  come  when  all  the 
lands  between  the  Alps  and  the  Straits  of  Messina 
were  governed  by  one  ruler.  Justinian  had  no  suc- 
cessor till  Victor  Emmanuel. 

After  the  Lombard  conquest  the  imperial  dominion 
in  Italy  were  administered  by  a  governor,  called  the 
Exarch,  who  dwelt  at  Ravenna,  the  northernmost  and 
strongest  of  the  imperial  fortresses.  All  the  Italian 
provinces  were  nominally  beneath  his  control,  but,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  he  was  only  treated  with  implicit 
obedience  by  those  of  his  subordinates  who  dwelt  in 
his  own  neighbourhood.  He  found  it  harder  to 
enforce  his  orders  at  Naples  and  Reggio,  or  in  the 
distant  islands  of  Sicily  and  Sardinia.  But  it  was  the 
bishops  of  Rome  who  profited  most  by  his  absence  : 
although  a  "duke,"  ^  military  officer  of  some  im- 
portance, dwelt  at  Rome,  he  was  from  the  first  over- 
shadowed by  his  spiritual  neighbour.  Even  during  the 
days  of  the  Ostrogoths  the  Roman  bishops  had  acquired 
considerable  importance,  as  being  the  chief  official 
representatives  of  the  Italians  in  dealings  with  their 
Teutonic  masters.  But  they  spoke  with  much  more 
freedom  and  weight  when  they  had  to  do,  not' with  a 
King  of  Italy  dwelling  quite  near  them,  but  with  a  mere 
governor  fettered  by  orders  from  distant  Constanti- 
nople. Gregory  the  Great  [590-604]  was  the  first  of 
the  popes  who  began  to  assume  an  independent  attitude 


120  THE    COMING    OF   THE    SLAVS. 

and  to  treat  the  Exarch  at  Ravenna  with  scant 
ceremony.  He  was  an  able  and  energetic  man,  who 
could  not  bear  to  see  Rome  suffering  for  want  of  a 
ruler  on  the  spot,  and  readily  took  upon  himself  civil 
functions,  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  his  nominal 
superior  the  Exarch.  In  592,  for  example,  he  made 
a  private  truce  for  Rome  with  the  Lombard  Duke  of 
Spoleto,  though  the  latter  was  at  war  with  the  empire. 
The  Emperor  Maurice  stormed  at  him  as  foolish  and 
disobedient,  but  did  not  venture  to  depose  him,  being 
too  much  troubled  with  Persian  and  Avaric  wars  to 
send  troops  against  Rome.  On  another  occasion 
ijregory  nominated  a  governor  for  Naples,  instead  of 
leaving  the  appointment  to  the  Exarch.  In  599  he 
acted  as  mediator  between  the  Lombard  king  and  the 
government  at  Ravenna,  as  if  he  had  been  a  neutral 
and  independent  sovereign.  Although  he  showed  no 
wish  to  sever  his  connection  with  the  Roman  Empire, 
Gregory  behaved  as  if  he  considered  the  emperor  his 
suzerain  rather  than  his  immediate  ruler.  He  would 
never  give  in  on  disputed  points,  issued  orders  which 
contradicted  imperial  rescripts,  and  maintained  a 
bitter  quarrel  with  successive  patriarchs  of  Constanti- 
nople, who  possessed  the  favour  of  Maurice.  When 
the  patriarch  John  the  Faster  took  the  title  of  "  oecu- 
menical bishop,"  Gregory  wrote  to  Maurice  to  tell  him 
that  the  presumption  of  John  was  a  sure  sign  that  the 
days  of  Antichrist  were  at  hand,  and  to  urge  him  to 
repress  such  pretensions  by  the  force  of  the  civil  arm. 
This  is  one  of  the  first  signs  of  the  approach  of  that 
mediaeval  view  of  the  papacy  which  imagined  that 
it  was  the  pontiff's  duty  to  censure  and  advise  kings 


PERSIAN   WARS.  121 

and  emperors  on  all  possible  topics  and  occasions. 
Gregory's  immediate  successors  were  not  men  of 
mark,  or  a  breach  with  the  empire  might  have  been 
precipitated.  The  final  disavowal  of  the  supremacy 
of  the  Constantinopolitan  monarch  was  to  be  still 
delayed  for  nearly  two  hundred  years. 

The  wars  between  the  Exarchs  of  Ravenna  and  the 
LombaW  kings  were  little  influenced  by  interference 
from  the  East.  The  emperors  during  the  last  thirty 
years  of  the  sixth  century  were  far  more  engrossed 
with  their  Persian  and  Slavonic  wars.  Contests  with 
the  Great  king  of  the  East  occupied  no  less  than 
twenty  years  in  the  reigns  of  Justin  II.,  Tiberius,  and 
Maurice.  War  was  declared  in  572,  and  did  not  cease 
till  592.  Like  the  struggle  between  Justinian  and 
Chosroes  I.,  thirty  years  before,  it  was  wholly 
indecisive.  There  were  more  plundering  raids  than 
battles,  and  the  frontier  provinces  of  each  empire 
were  reduced  to  a  dreadful  state  of  desolation  and 
depopulation  :  if  the  Persians  pushed  their  ravages  as 
far  as  the  gates  of  Antioch,  Roman  generals  pene- 
trated deep  into  Media  and  Corduene,  where  the 
imperial  banner  had  not  been  seen  for  two  hundred 
years.  The  net  result  of  the  whole  twenty  years  of 
strife  was  that  each  combatant  had  seriously  weakened 
and  distressed  his  rival,  without  obtaining  any  definite 
superiority  over  him.  Forced  to  make  peace  by  the 
pressure  of  a  civil  war,  Chosroes  II.  gave  back  to 
Maurice  the  two  frontier  cities  of  Dara  and  Martyr- 
opolis,  the  sole  trophies  of  twenty  campaigns,  and 
ceded  him  a  slice  of  Armenian  territory.  But  these 
trivial  gains  were  far  from  compensating  the  empire 


122  THE   COMING    OF   THE    SLAVSo 

for  the  fearful  losses  caused  by  dozens  of  Persian 
invasions. 

The  Persian  war  was  exhausting,  but  successful :  on 
the  northern  frontier,  however,  the  Roman  army  had 
been  faring  far  worse,  and  serious  losses  of  territory 
were  beginning  to  take  place.  The  enemies  in  this 
quarter  were  two  new  tribes,  who  appeared  on  the 
Danube  after  the  Lombards  had  departed  from  it  to 
commence  their  invasion  of  Italy.  There  were  now 
no  Teutons  left  on  the  northern  frontier  of  the  empire  : 
of  the  incoming  tribes,  one  was  Tartar  and  the  other 
Slavonic.  The  Avars  were  a  nomadic  race  from  Asia, 
wild  horsemen  of  the  Steppes,  much  like  their  pre- 
decessors the  Huns.  They  had  fled  west  to  escape 
the  Turks,  who  were  at  this  time  building  up  an 
empire  in  Central  Asia,  and  betook  themselves  to  the 
South  Russian  plains,  not  far  from. the  mouth  of  the 
Danube.  To  cross  the  river  and  ravage  Moesia  was 
too  tempting  a  prospect  to  be  neglected,  and  ere  long 
the  Avaric  cavalry  were  seen  only  too  frequently  alon^ 
the  Balkans  and  on  the  coast  of  the  Black  Sea.  Their 
first  raid  into  Roman  territory  fell  into  the  year  562, 
just  before  the  death  of  Justinian,  and  from  that  time 
forward  they  were  always  causing  trouble.  They  were 
ready  enough  to  make  peace  when  money  was  paid 
them,  but  as  they  invariably  broke  the  agreement 
when  the  money  was  spent,  it  was  never  long  before 
they  reappeared  south  of  the  Danube. 

But  the  Slavs  were  a  far  more  serious  danger  to 
the  empire  than  the  Avars.  The  latter  came  only  to 
plunder,  the  former— like  the  Germans  two  centuries 
before — came  pressing  into  the  provinces  to  win  them- 


THE   SLAVS.  123 

selves  a  new  home.  The  Romans  knew  at  first  of 
only  two  tribes  of  them,  the  Slovenes  and  Antae,  but 
behind  these  there  were  others  who  were  gradually  to 
push  their  way  to  the  south  and  make  their  presence 
known — Croats,  Servians,  and  many  more.  The  Slavs 
were  the  easternmost  of  the  Aryan  peoples  of  Europe, 
and  by  far  the  most  backward.  They  had  always  lain 
behind  the  Germans,  and  it  was  only  when  the 
German  barrier  was  removed  by  the  migration  of  the 
Goths  and  Lombards  that  they  came  into  touch 
with  the  empire.  They  were  rude  races,  far  behind 
the  Teutons  in  civilization  ;  they  had  hardly  learnt 
as  yet  the  simplest  arts,  knew  nothing  of  defensive 
armour,  and  could  only  use  for  boats  tree-trunks 
hollowed  out  by  fire — like  the  Australian  savages  of 
to-day.  They  had  not  learnt  to  live  under  kings  or 
chiefs,  but  dwelt  in  village  communities,  governed  by 
the  patriarchs  of  the  several  families.  Their  abodes 
were  mud  huts,  and  they  cultivated  no  grain  but 
millet.  When  they  went  to  war  they  could  send  out 
thousands  of  spearmen  and  bowmen,  but  their  wild 
bands  were  not  very  formidable  in  the  open  field. 
They  could  resist  neither  cavalry  nor  disciplined 
infantry,  and  were  only  formidable  in  woods  and  de- 
files, where  they  formed  ambuscades  and  endeavoured 
to  take  their  enemy  by  surprise,  and  overwhelm  him 
by  a  sudden  rush.  We  are  assured  that  one  of  their 
favourite  devices  was  to  conceal  themselves  in  ponds 
or  rivers  by  lying  down  in  the  water  for  hours  together, 
breathing  through  reeds,  whose  points  were  the  only 
things  visible  above  the  surface.  Thus  a  thousand 
men  might  be  concealed,  and  nothing  appear  except 


124  THE   COMING   OF    THE   SLAVS. 

a  bed  of  rushes.  This  strange  stratagem  would  seem 
incredible,  if  we  had  not  on  record  one  or  two  occasions 
on  which  it  was  actually  practised. 

The  Slavs  had  begun  to  make  themselves  felt  early 
in  the  sixth  century,  but  it  was  not  till  the  death  of 
Justinian  that  we  hear  of  them  as  a  pressing  danger. 
But  when  the  Lombards  had  passed  away  westward, 
they  came  down  to  the  Danube  and  began  to  cross  it 
in  great  numbers,  in  the  endeavour  to  make  permanent 
settlements  on  the  Roman  bank.  The  raids  of  the 
Slavs  and  the  Avars  were  curiously  complicated,  for 
the  king,  or  Chagan,  of  the  Tartar  tribe  had  made 
vassals  of  many  of  his  Slavonic  neighbours.  They,  on 
the  other  hand,  sometimes  acted  in  obedience  to  him, 
but  more  frequently  tried  to  escape  from  his  power  by 
pushing  forward  into  Roman  territory.  Hence  it 
comes .  that  we  often  find  Slav  and  Avar  leagued 
together,  but  at  other  times  find  them  acting 
separately,  or  even  in  opposition  to  each  other.  A 
more  chaotic  series  of  campaigns  it  is  hard  to  con- 
ceive. 

Down  to  this  time  the  inland  of  the  Balkan  penin. 
sula  had  been  inhabited  by  Thracian  and  Illyrian 
provincials,  of  whom  the  majority  spoke  the  Latin 
tongue,  though  a  few  still  preserved  their  ancient 
barbaric  idiom.^  They  formed  the  only  large  body  of 
subjects  of  the  empire  outside  Italy,  who  still  spoke 
the  old  ruling  language,  and  as  they  were  about  a 
quarter  of  its  population,  they  did  much  to  preserve  its 
Roman  character,  and  to  prevent  it  from  becoming 

*  From  them  the  Albanians  descend  :  the  Albanian  tongue  is  the  only 
relic  of  ancient  Illyria. 


THE    WOES   OF  THRACE.  125 

Greek  or  Asiatic.  Their  pride  in  their  Latin  tongue 
was  very  marked  :  Justinian,  born  in  the  heart  of  the 
district,  was  fond  of  laying  special  stress  on  the  fact 
that  Latin  was  his  native  language. 

On  this  Latinized  Thraco-Illyrian  population  the 
invasion  of  the  Slavs  and  Avars  fell  with  unex- 
ampled severity.  The  Goths  had  afflicted  them 
before,  but  they,  at  least,  had  been  Christian 
and  semi-civilized,  while  the  new-comers  were  in 
the  lowest  grade  of  savagery.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  between  570  and  600  the  old  population 
was  almost  exterminated  over  the  greater  part 
of  the  country  north  of  the  Balkans  -  the  modern 
Servia  and  Bulgaria — and  very  sadly  cut  down  even 
in  the  more  sheltered  Macedonian  and  Thracian  pro- 
vinces. The  Latin-speaking  provincials  almost  dis- 
appeared :  the  only  remnants  of  them  were  the 
Dalmatian  islanders  and  the  "  Vlachs "  or  Wal- 
lachians  who  are  found  in  later  times  scattered  in 
small  bodies  among  the  Slavs  who  had  swept  over 
the  whole  country-side.  The  effect  of  the  invasion 
is  well  described  by  the  contemporary  chronicler, 
John  of  Ephesus — 

"  The  year  581  was  famous  for  the  invasion  of  the 
accursed  people  called  Slavonians,  who  overran  Greece 
and  the  country  by  Thessalonica,  and  all  Thrace,  and 
captured  the  cities  and  took  many  forts,  and  devas- 
tated and  burnt,  and  reduced  the  people  to  slavery, 
and  made  themselves  masters  of  the  whole  country, 
and  settled  in  it,  by  main  force,  and  dwelt  in  it  as 
though  it  had  been  their  own.  Four  years  have  now 
elapsed,  and  still  they  live  at  their  ease  in  the  land/ 


126  THE   COMING    OF   THE   SLAVS. 

and  spread  themselves  far  and  wide,  as  far  as  God 
permits  them,  and  ravage  and  burn  and  take  captive, 
and  still  they  encamp  and  dwell  there." 

The  open  country  was  swept  bare  by  the  Slavs  :  the 
towns  resisted  better,  for  neither  Slav  nor  Avar  was 
skilled  in  siege  operations.  Relying  upon  the  fortified 
towns  as  his  base  the  great  general  Priscus,  whom 
Maurice  placed  in  command,  was  able  to  keep  his 
ground  along  the  Danube,  and  to  perform  many 
gallant  exploits.  He  even  crossed  the  river  and 
attacked  the  Slavs  and  Avars  in  their  own  homes 
beyond  it ;  but  it  was  to  no  effect  that  he  burnt  their 
villages  and  slew  off  their  warriors.  He  could  not 
protect  the  unarmed  population  in  the  open  country 
within  the  Roman  boundary,  and  the  girdle  of 
fortresses  along  the  Danube  soon  covered  nothing 
but  a  wasted  region,  sparsely  inhabited  by  Slavs. 
The  limit  of  Roman  population  had  fallen  back  to 
the  line  of  the  Balkans,  and  even  to  the  south  of  it, 
and  the  Slavs  were  ever  slipping  across  the  Danube 
in  larger  and  larger  numbers,  despite  the  garrisons 
along  the  river  which  were  still  kept  up  from  Singi- 
dunum  [Belgrade]  to  Dorostolum  [Silistria]. 

The  misfortunes  of  the  Avaric  and  Slavonic  war  were 
the  cause  of  the  fall  of  the  Emperor  Maurice.  He  had 
won  some  unpopularity  by  his  manifest  inability  to 
stem  the  tide  of  the  barbarian  invasion,  and  more  by 
an  act  of  callousness,  of  which  he  was  guilty  in  599. 
The  Chagan  of  the  Avars  had  captured  15,000 
prisoners,  and  offered  to  release  them  for  a  large 
ransom.  Maurice  —  whose  treasury  was  empty  — 
refused  to  comply,  and  the  Chagan   massacred    the 


FALL    OF   MAURICE.  I2y 

wretched  captives.  But  the  immediate  cause  of  the 
emperor's  fall  was  his  way  of  deahng  with  the  army. 
He  was  unpopular  with  the  soldiery,  though  an  old 
soldier  himself,  and  did  not  possess  their  respect  or 
confidence.  Yet  he  was  an  officer  of  some  merit 
and  had  written  a  long  military  treatise  called  the 
"  Strategicon,"  which  was  the  official  handbook  of  the 
imperial  armies  for  three  hundred  years. 

Maurice  sealed  his  fate  when,  in  602,  he  issued 
orders  for  the  discontented  army  of  the  Danube  to 
winter  north  of  the  river,  in  the  waste  marshes  of  the 
Slavs.  The  troops  refused  to  obey  the  order,  and 
chased  away  their  generals.  Then  electing  as  their 
captain  an  obscure  centurion,  named  Phocas,  they 
marched  on  Constantinople. 

Maurice  armed  the  city  factions,  the  "  Blues  "  and 
"  Greens,"  and  strove  to  defend  himself  But  when  he 
saw  that  no  one  would  fight  for  him,  he  fled  across  the 
Bosphorus  with  his  wife  and  children,  to  seek  refuge 
in  the  Asiatic  provinces,  where  he  was  less  unpopular 
than  in  Europe.  Soon  he  was  pursued  by  orders  of 
Phocas,  whom  the  army  had  now  saluted  as  emperor, 
and  caught  at  Chalcedon.  The  cruel  usurper  had  him 
executed  along  with  all  his  five  sons,  the  youngest  a 
child  of  only  thiee  years  of  age.  Maurice  died  with 
a  courage  and  piety  that  moved  even  his  enemies, 
exclaiming  with  his  last  breath,  "  Thou  art  just,  O 
Lord,  and  just  are  thy  judgments  I "    \ 


1 

^s 

w 

^^^ 

m^ 

1 

1 

1 

^H 

m 

THE  DARKEST  HOUR. 

For  the  first  time  since  Constantinople  had  become 
the  seat  of  empire  the  throne  had  been  won  by  armed 
rebellion  and  the  murder  of  the  legitimate  ruler. 
The  break  in  the  peaceful  and  orderly  succession 
which  had  hitherto  prevailed  was  not  only  an  evil 
precedent,  but  an  immediate  disaster.  The  new 
emperor  proved  a  far  worse  governor  than  the  un- 
fortunate Maurice,  who,  in  spite  of  his  faults  and  his 
ill  luck,  had  always  been  hard-working,  moderate, 
pious,  and  economical.  Phocas  was  a  mere  brutal 
soldier — cruel,  ignorant,  suspicious,  and  reckless,  and 
in  his  incapable  hands  the  empire  began  to  fall  to 
pieces  with  alarming  rapidity.  He  opened  his  reign 
with  a  series  of  cruel  executions  of  his  predecessor's 
friends,  and  from  that  moment  his  deeds  of  bloodshed 
never  ceased  :  probably  the  worst  of  them  was  tlie 
execution  of  Constantina,  widow  of  Maurice  and 
daughter  of  Tiberius  II.,  whom  he  slew  together  with 
her  three  young  daughters,  lest  their  names  might  be 
used  as  the  excuse  for  a  conspiracy  against  him.  But 
even  greater  horror  seems  to  have  been  caused  when 


MISFORTUNES   OF  PHOCAS.  -129 

he  burnt  alive  the  able  general  Narses,^  who  had  won 
many  laurels  in  the  last  Persian  war.  Narses  had 
come  up  to  the  capital  under  safe  conduct  to  clear 
himself  from  accusations  of  treason  :  so  the  Emperor 
not  only  devised  a  punishment  which  had  never  yet 
been  heard  of  since  the  empire  became  Christian,  but 
broke  his  own  plighted  oath. 

The  moment  that  Phocas  had  mounted  the  throne,"^^H<^' 
Chosroes  of   Persia  declared  war  on  him,  using  the 


\1S 


hypocritical    pretext    that     he    wished    to    revenge      ^'^^h-^ 

Maurice,  for   whom    he   professed    a  warm    personal  ^^ 

friendship.       This    war   was    far   different    from    the 

indecisive    contests  in    the    reigns    of  Justinian    and 

Justin  11.     In  two  successive  years  the  Persians  burst 

into  North  Syria  and  ravaged  it  as  far  as  the  sea  ; 

but  in  the  third  they  turned  north  and  swept  over  the 

hitherto  untouched  provinces  of  Asia  Minor.     In  608 

their  main  army  penetrated   across  Cappadocia  and 

Galatia    right    up    to    the  gates  of  Chalcedon.     The 

inhabitants  of  Constantinople  could  see  the  blazing 

villages  across  the  water  on  the  Asfatic  shore — a  sight 

as  new  as  it  was  terrifying ;  for  although  Thrace  had 

several    times    been    harried    to   within    sight  of  the 

city,  no  enemy  had  ever  been  seen  in  Bithynia.  ^^^ 

Plot  after  plot  was  formed  in  the  capital  against 
Phocas,  but  he  succeeded  in  putting  them  all  down, 
and  slew  the  conspirators  with  fearful  tortures.  For 
eight  years  his  reign  continued  :  Constantinople  was 
full  of  executions  ;  Asia  was  ravaged  from  sea  to 
sea ;  the  Thracian  and  lUyrian  provinces  were  over- 
run more  and  more  by  the  Slavs,  now  that  the  army 

*  To  be  carefully  distinguished  from  his  homonyn  in  Justinian's  time. 


130  THE   DARKEST   HOUR. 

of  Europe  had  been  transferred  across  the  Bosphorus 
to  make  head  against  the  Persians.  Yet  Phocas  still 
held  on  to  Constantinople  :  the  creature  of  a  military 
revolt  himself,  it  was  by  a  military  revolt  alone  that 
he  was  destined  to  be  overthrown. 

Africa  was  the  only  portion  of  the  Roman  Empire 
which  in  the  reign  of  Phocas  was  suffering  neither 
from  civil  strife  nor  foreign  invasion.  It  was  well 
governed  by  the  aged  exarch  Heraclius,  who  was  so 
well  liked  in  the  province  that  the  emperor  had  not 
dared  to  depose  him.  Urged  by  desperate  entreaties 
from  all  parties  in  Constantinople  to  strike  a  blow 
against  the  tyrant,  and  deliver  the  empire  from  the 
yoke  of  a  monster,  Heraclius  at  last  consented.  He 
quietly  got  ready  a  fleet,  which  he  placed  under  the 
orders  of  his  son,  who  bore  the  same  name  as  himself. 
This  he  despatched  against  Constantinople,  while  at 
the  same  time  his  nephew  Nicetas  led  a  large  body  of 
horse  along  the  African  shore  to  invade  Egypt. 

When  Heraclius  the  younger  arrived  with  his  fleet 
at  the  Dardanelles,  all  the  prominent  citizens  of  Con- 
stantinople fled  secretly  to  take  refuge  with  him.  As 
he  neared  the  capital  the  troops  of  Phocas  burst  into 
mutiny  :  the  tyrant's  fleet  was  scattered  after  a  slight 
engagement^  and  the  city  threw  open  its  gates. 
Phocas  was  seized  in  the  palace  by  an  official  whom 
he  had  cruelly  wronged,  and  brought  aboard  the 
galley  of  the  conqueror.  "  Is  it  thus,"  said  Heraclius, 
"that  you  have  governed  the  empire  .^ "  "Will  you 
govern  it  any  better } "  sneered  the  desperate  usurper. 
Heraclius  spurned  him  away  with  his  foot,  and  the 
sailors  hewed  him  to  pieces  on  the  deck. 


ACCESSION   OF  HERACLIUS.  I3I 

Next  day  the  patriarch  and  the  senate  hailed 
HeracHus  as  emperor,  and  he  was  duly  crowned  in 
St.  Sophia  on  October  5,  A.D.  610. 

HeracHus  took  over  the  empire  in  such  a  state  of 
disorder  and  confusion  that  he  must  soon  have  felt 
that  there  was  some  truth  in  the  dying  sneer  o 
Phocas.  It  seemed  almost  impossible  to  get  things 
into  better  order,  for  resources  were  wanting.  Sa\  c 
Africa  and  Egypt  and  the  district  immediately  around 
the  capital,  all  the  provinces  were  overrun  by  the 
the  Persian,  the  Avar,  and  the  Slav.  The  treasury 
was  empty,  and  the  army  had  almost  disappeared 
owing  to  repeated  and  bloody  defeats  in  Asia  Minor. 

HeracHus  seems  at  first  to  have  almost  despaired 
of  the  possibility  of  evolving  order  out  of  this  chaos, 
though  he  was  in  the  prime  of  life  and  strength — "a 
man  of  middle  stature,  strongly  built,  and  broad- 
chested,  with  grey  eyes  and  yellow  hair,  and  of  a  very 
fair  complexion  ;  he  wore  a  bushy  beard  when  he 
came  to  the  throne,  but  afterwards  cut  it  short." 
For  the  first  twelve  years  of  his  reign  he  remained 
at  Constantinople,  endeavouring  to  reorganize  the 
empire,  and  to  defend  at  any  rate  the  frontiers  of 
Thrace  and  Asia  Minor.  The  more  distant  provinces 
he  hardly  seems  to  have  hoped  to  save,  and  the 
chronicle  of  his  early  years  is  filled  with  the  catalogue 
of  the  losses  of  the  empire.  Mesopotamia  and  North 
Syria  had  already  been  lost  by  Phocas,  but  in  613, 
while  the  imperial  armies  were  endeavouring  to  defend 
Cappadocia,  the  Persian  general  Shahrbarz  turned 
southwards  and  attacked  Central  Syria.  The  great 
town  of  Damascus  fell  into  his   hands  ;   but  worse 


'>< 


132  THE   DARKEST   HOUR. 

was  to  come.  In  614  the  ■  Persian  army  appeared 
before  the  holy  city  of  Jerusalem,  took  it  after  a  short 
resistance,  and  occupied  it  with  a  garrison.  But  the 
populace  rose  and  slaughtered  the  Persian  troops 
when  Shahrbarz  had  departed  with  his  main  army. 
This  brought  him  back  in  wrath  :  he  stormed  the 
city  and  put  90,000  Christians  to  the  sword,  only 
sparing  the  Jewish  inhabitants.  Zacharias,  Patriarch 
of  Jerusalem,  was  carried  into  captivity,  and  with 
him  went  what  all  Christians  then  regarded  as  the 
most  precious  thing  in  the  world — the  wood  of  the 
"True  Cross."  Helena,  the  mother  of  Constantine, 
had  dug  the  relic  up,  according  to  the  well-known 
legend,  on  Mount  Moriah,  and  built  for  it  a  splendid 
shrine.  Now  Shahrbarz  desecrated  the  church  and 
took  off  the  "  True  Cross  "  to  Persia. 

This    loss   brought    the    inhabitants   of    the    East 
;,\i)^''^        almost  to  despair  ;  they  thought  that  the  luck  of  the 

jL        jj^pire  had  departed  with  the  Holy  Wood,  which  had 
^^jl    served  as  its  Palladium,  and  even  imagined  that  the 

\  \j  Last  Day  was  at  hand  and  that  Chosroes  of  Persia 
was  Antichrist.  The  mad  language  of  pride  and 
insult  which  the  Persian  in  the  day  of  his  triumph 
used  to  Heraclius  might  also  explain  their  belief.  His 
blasphemous  phrases  seem  like  an  echo  of  the  letter 
of  Sennacherib  in  the  Second  Book  of  Kings.  The 
epistle  ran  : — 

"  Chosroes,  greatest  of  gods,  and  master  of  the 
whole  earth,  to  Heraclius,  his  vile  and  insensate 
slave.  Have  I  not  destroyed  the  Greeks  ?  You  say 
you  trust  in  your  God  :  why,  then,  has  he  not 
delivered  out  of  my  hand  Caesarea,  Jerusalem,  and 


THE   LETTER    OF   CHOSROES,  133 

Alexandria  ?  Shall  I  not  also  destroy  Constanti- 
nople ?  But  I  will  pardon  all  your  sins  if  you  will 
come  to  me  with  your  wife  and  children  ;  I  will  give 
you  lands,  vines,  and  olive  groves,  and  will  look  upon 
you  with  a  kindly  aspect.  Do  not  deceive  yourself 
with  the  vain  hope  in  that  Christ,  who  was  not  even 
able  to  save  himself  from  the  Jews,  who  slew  him 
by  nailing  him  to  a  cross." 

The  horror  and  rage  roused  by  the  loss  of  the 
"  True  Cross  "  and  the  blasphemies  of  King  Chosroes 
brought  about  the  first  real  outburst  of  national 
feeling  that  we  meet  in  the  history  of  the  Eastern 
Empire.  It  was  felt  that  the  fate  of  Christendom 
hung  in  the  balance,  and  that  all,  from  highest 
to  lowest,  were  bound  to  make  one  great  effort  to 
beat  back  the  fire-worshipping  Persians  from  Pales- 
tine, and  recover  the  Holy  Places.  The  Emperor 
vowed  that  he  would  take  the  field  at  the  head  of  the 
army — a  thing  most  unprecedented,  for  since  the 
death  of  Theodosius  I.,  in  395,  no  Caesar  had  ever 
gone  out  in  person  to  war.  The  Church  came 
forward  in  the  most  noble  way — at  the  instance  of 
the  Patriarch  Sergius  all  the  churches  of  Constanti- 
nople sent  their  treasures  and  ornaments  to  the 
mint  to  be  coined  dpwn,  and  serve  as  a  great  loan  to 
the  state,  which  was  to  be  repaid  when  the  Persians 
should  have  been  conquered.  The  free  dole  of  corn 
which  the  inhabitants  of  the  capital  had  been  receiv- 
ing ever  since  the  days  of  Constantine  was  abolished, 
and  the  populace  bore  the  privation  without  demur. 
It  was  indeed  observed  that  this  measure  not  only 
saved  the  treasury,  but  drove  into  the  army — where 


.^. 


134  THE   DARKEST   HOUR. 

they  were  useful — thousands  of  the  able-bodied 
loiterers  who  were  the  strength  of  the  circus  factions 
and  the  pest  of  the  city.  If  the  dole  had  been  con- 
tinued Heraclius  could  not  have  found  a  penny  for 
the  war.  Egypt,  the  granary  of  the  empire,  had  been 
lost  in  616,  and  the  supply  of  government  corn 
entirely  cut  off,  so  that  the  dole  would  have  had  to 
be  provided  by  the  treasury  buying  corn,  a  ruinously 
expensive  task. 

By  the  aid  of  the  Church  loan  Heraclius  equipped 
a  new  army  and  strengthened  his  fleet.  He  also  pro- 
vided for  the  garrisoning  of  Constantinople  by  an  ade- 
quate force,  a  most  necessary  precaution,  for  in  617  the 
Persians  had  again  forced  their  way  to  the  Bosphorus, 
and  this  time  captured  Chalcedon.  Heraclius  would 
probably  have  taken  the  field  next  year  but  for 
troubles  with  the  Avars.  That  wild  race  had  long 
been  working  their  wicked  will  on  the  almost  un- 
defended Thracian  provinces,  but  now  they  promised 
peace.  Heraclius  went  out,  at  the  Chagan's  pressing 
invitation,  to  meet  him  near  Heraclea.  But  the  con- 
ference was  a  snare,  for  the  treacherous  savage  had 
planted  ambushes  on  the  way  to  secure  the  person 
of  the  Emperor,  and  Heraclius  only  escaped  by  the 
speed  of  his  horse.  He  cast  off  his  imperial  mantle 
to  ride  the  faster,  and  galloped  into  the  capital  just 
in  time  to  close  its  gates  as  the  vanguard  of  the 
Chagan's  army  came  in  sight.  The  Avars  kept  the 
Emperor  engaged  for  some  time,  and  it  was  not  till 
622  that  he  was  able  to  take  the  field  against  the 
Persians. 

This  expedition  of  Heraclius  was  in  spirit  the  first 


VICTORIES   OF  HERACLIUS,  135 

of  the  Crusades.  It  was  the  first  war  that  the  Roman 
Empire  had  ever  undertaken  in  a  spirit  of  religious 
enthusiasm,  for  it  was  to  no  mere  political  end  that 
the  Emperor  and  his  people  looked  forward.  The 
army  marched  out  to  save  Christendom,  to  conquer  the 
Holy  Places,  and  to  recover  the  "  True  Cross."  The 
men  were  wrought  up  to  a  high  pitch  of  enthusiasm 
by  warlike  sermons,  and  the  Emperor  carried  with 
him,  to  stimulate  his  zeal,  a  holy  picture — one  of  those 
eikoiis  in  which  the  Greek  Church  has  always  delighted 
— which  was  believed  to  be  the  work  of  no  morta. 
hands. 

Heraclius  made  no  less  than  six  campaigns  (A.D. 
622-27)  in  his  gallant  and  successful  attempt  to 
save  the  half-ruined  empire.  He  won  great  and  well- 
deserved  fame,  and  his  name  would  be  reckoned 
among  the  foremost  of  the  world's  warrior-kings  if  it 
had  not  been  for  the  misfortunes  which  afterwards 
fell  on  him  in  his  old  age. 

His  first  campaign  cleared  Asia  Minor  of  the 
Persian  hosts,  not  by  a  direct  attack,  but  by  skilful 
strategy.  Instead  of  attacking  the  army  at  Chalcedon, 
he  took  ship  and  landed  in  Cilicia,  in  the  rear  of  the 
fenemy,  threatening  in  this  position  both  Syria  and 
Cappadocia.  As  he  expected,  the  Persians  broke  up 
from  their  camp  opposite  Constantinople,  and  came 
back  to  fall  upon  him.  But  after  much  manoeuvring 
he  completely  beat  the  general  Shahrbarz,  and  cleared 
Asia  Minor  of  the  enemy. 

In  his  next  campaigns  Heraclius  endeavoured  to 
liberate  the  rest  of  the  Roman  Empire  by  a  similar 
plan  :  he  resolved  to  assail  Chosroes  at  home,  and 


136  THE   DARKEST   HOUR. 

force  him  to  recall  the  armies  he  kept  in  Syria  and 
Egypt  to  defend  his  own  Persian  provinces.  In 
623-4  the  Emperor  advanced  across  the  Armenian 
mountains  and  threw  himself  into  Media,  where  his 
army  revenged  the  woes  of  Antioch  and  Jerusalem 
by  burning  the  fire-temples  of  Ganzaca — the  Median 
capital — and  Thebarmes,  the  birthplace  of  the  Persian 
prophet  Zoroaster.  Chosroes,  as  might  have  been 
expected,  recalled  his  troops  from  the  west,  and 
fought  two  desperate  battles  to  cover  Ctesiphon.  His 
generals  were  defeated  in  both,  but  the  Roman  army 
suffered  severely.  Winter  was  at  hand,  and  Heraclius 
fell  back  on  Armenia.  In  his  next  campaign  he 
recovered  Roman  Mesopotamia,  with  its  fortresses  of 
Amida,  Dara,  and  Martyropolis,  and  again  defeated 
the  general  Shahrbarz. 

But  626  was  the  decisive  year  of  the  war.  The 
obstinate  Chosroes  determined  on  one  final  effort  to 
crush  Heraclius,  by.  concerting  a  joint  plan  of  opera- 
tions with  the  Chagan  of  the  Avars.  While  the  main 
Persian  army  watched  the  emperor  in  Armenia,  a 
great  body  under  Shahrbarz  slipped  south  of  him 
into  Asia  Minor  and  marched  on  the  Bosphorus.  At 
the  same  moment  the  Chagan  of  the  Avars,  with 
the  whole  force  of  his  tribe  and  of  his  Slavonic 
dependants,  burst  over  the  Balkans  and  beset  Con- 
stantinople on  the  European  side.  The  two  barbarian 
hosts  could  see  each  other  across  the  water,  and  even 
contrived  to  exchange  messages,  but  the  Roman  fleet 
sailing  incessantly  up  and  down  the  strait  kept  them 
from  joining  forces. 

tfi  the  June,  July,  and  August  of  626  the  capital 


FIRST   SIEGE   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE.  137 

was  thus  beset :  the  danger  appeared  iriiminent,  and 
the  Emperor  was  far  away  on  the  Euphrates.  But 
the  garrison  was  strong,  the  patrician  Bonus,  its  com- 
mander, was  an  able  officer,  the  fleet  was  efficient, 
and  the  same  crusading  fervour  which  had  inspired 
the  Constaiitinopolitans  in  622  still  buoyed  up  their 
spirits.  In  the  end  of  July  80,000  Avars  and  Slavs, 
with  all  sorts  of  siege  implements,  delivered  simul- 
taneous assaults  along  the  land  front  of  the  city,  but 
they  were  beaten  back  with  great  slaughter.  Next  the 
Chagan  built  himself  rafts  and  tried  to  bring  the 
Persians  across,  but  the  Roman  galleys  sunk  the 
clumsy  structures,  and  slew  thousands  of  the  Slavs 
who  had  come  off  in  small  boats  to  attack  the  fleet. 
Then  the  Chagan  gave  up  the  siege  in  disgust  and 
retired  across  the  Danube. 

Heraclius  had  shown  great  confidence  in  the  strength 
of  Constantinople  and  the  courage  of  its  defenders. 
He  sent  a  few  veteran  troops  to  aid  the  garrison,  but 
did  not  slacken  from  his  attack  on  Persia.  While 
Shahrbarz  and  the  Chagan  were  besieging  his  capital^ 
he  himself  was  wasting  Media  and  Mesopotamia. 
He  imitated  King  Chosroes  in  calling  in  Tartar  allies 
from  the  north,  and  revenged  the  ravages  of  the 
Avars  in  Thrace  by  turning  40,000  Khazar  horsemen 
loose  on  Northern  Persia.  The  enemy  gave  way 
before  him  everywhere,  and  the  Persians  began  to 
grow  desperate. 

Next  year  King  Chosroes  put  into  the  field  the 
last  levy  of  Persia,  under  a  general  named  Rhazates, 
whom  he  bid  to  go  out  and  "conquer  or  die."  At 
the  same  time  he  wrote  to  command  Shahrbarz  to 


138  THE   DARKEST   HOUR. 

evacuate  Chalcedon  and  return  home  in  haste.  But 
Heraclius  intercepted  the  despatch  of  recall,  and 
Shahrbarz  came  not. 

Near  Nineveh  Heraclius  fell  in  with  the  Persian 
home  army  and  inflicted  on  it  a  decisive  defeat.  He 
himself,  charging  at  the  head  of  his  cavalry,  rode 
down  the  general  of  the  enemy  and  slew  him  with  his 
lance.  Chosroes  could  put  no  new  army  in  the  field, 
and  by  Christmas  Heraclius  had  seized  his  palace  of 
Dastagerd,  and  divided  among  his  troops  such  a 
plunder  as  had  never  been  seen  since  Alexander  the 
Great  captured  Susa. 

The  Nemesis  of  Chosroes'  insane  vanity  had  now 
arrived.  Ten  years  after  he  had  written  his  vaunting 
letter  to  Heraclius  he  found  himself  in  far  worse 
plight  than  his  adversary  had  ever  been.  After 
Dastagerd  had  fallen  he  retired  to  Ctesiphon,  the 
capital  of  his  empire,  but  even  from  thence  he  had  to 
flee  on  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  Then  the  end 
came  :  his  own  son  Siroes  and  his  chief  nobles  seized 
him  and  threw  him  in  chains,  and  a  few  days  after  he 
died — of  rage  and  despair  according  to  one  story, 
of  starvation  if  the  darker  tale  is  true. 
^^  The  new  king  sent  the  humblest  messages  to  the 
*/^  victorious  Roman,  hailing  him  as  his  "  father,"  and 
^XW\  apologizing    for  all    the  woes    that    the   ambition  of 

Chosroes  had  brought  upon  the  w^orld.  Heraclius 
received  his  ambassadors  with  kindness,  and  granted 
peace,  on  the  condition  that  every  inch  of  Roman  terri- 
tory should  be  evacuated,  all  Roman  captives  freed, 
a  war  indemnity  paid,  and  the  spoils  of  Jerusalem, 
including    the     "True    Cross,"     faithfully    restored. 


1^ 


TRIUMPH   OF  HERACLIUS.  139 

Siroes  consented  with  alacrity,  and  in  March,  628, 
a  glorious  peace  ended  the  twenty-six  years  of  the 
Persian  war. 

Heraclius  returned  to  Constantinople  in  the  summer 
of  the  same  year  with  his  spoils,  his  victorious  army, 
and  his  great  trophy,  the  "  Holy  Wood."  His  entry 
was  celebrated  in  the  style  of  an  old  Roman  triumph, 
and  the  Senate  conferred  on  him  the  title  of  the 
"  New  Scipio."  The  whole  of  the  citizens,  bearing 
myrtle  boughs,  came  out  to  meet  the  army,  and  the 
ceremony  concluded  with  the  exhibition  of  the  "  True 
Cross"  before  the  high  altar  of  St.  Sophia.  Heraclius 
afterwards  took  it  back  in  great  pomp  to  Jerusalem. 

This  was,  perhaps,  the  greatest  triumph  that  any 
emperor  ever  won.  Heraclius  had  surpassed  the 
eastern  achievements  of  Trajan  and  Severus,  and  led 
his  troops  further  east  than  any  Roman  general  had 
ever  penetrated.  His  task,  too,  had  been  the  hardest 
ever  imposed  on  an  emperor  ;  none  of  his  predecessors 
had  ever  started  to  war  with  his  very  capital  belea- 
guered and  with  three-fourths  of  his  provinces  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  Since  Julius  Caesar  no  one  had 
fought  so  incessantly — for  six  years  the  emperor  had 
not  been  out  of  the  saddle — nor  met  with  such 
uniform  success. 

Heraclius  returned  to  Constantinople  to  spend,  as 
he  hoped,  the  rest  of  his  years  in  peace.  He  had  now 
reached  the  age  of  fifty-four,  and  was  much  worn  by 
his  incessant  campaigning.  But  the  quiet  for  which 
he  yearned  was  to  be  denied  him,  and  the  end  of  his 
reign  was  to  be  almost  as  disastrous  as  the  commence- 
ment. 


140 


THE   DARKEST   HOUR. 


The  great  Saracen  invasion  was  at  hand,  and  it 
was  at  the  very  moment  of  HeracHus'  triumph  that 
Mahomet  sent  out  his  famous  circular  letter  to 
the  kings  of  the  earth,  inviting  them  to  embrace 
Islam.  If  the  Emperor  could  but  have  known  that 
his  desolated  realm,  spoiled  for  ten  long  years  by  the 
Persian  and  the  Avar,  and  drained  of  men  and  money, 
was  to  be  invaded  by  a  new  enemy  far  more  terrible 
than  the  old,  he  would  have  prayed  that  the  day 
of  his  triumph  might  also  be  the  day  of  his  death. 


XL 

SOCIAL  AND  RELIGIOUS   LIFE. 

(a.d.  320-620.) 

The  reign  of  Heraclius  forms  the  best  dividing 
point  in  the  history  of  the  empire  betvveen  what  may 
roughly  be  called  Ancient  History  and  the  Middle 
Ages.  There  is  no  break  at  all  between  Constantine 
and  Heraclius,  though  the  area,  character,  social  life, 
and  religion  of  the  empire  had  been  greatly  modified 
in  the  three  hundred  years  that  separated  them.  The 
new  order  of  things,  which  commenced  when  Con- 
stantine established  his  capital  on  the  Bosphorus,  had 
a  peaceable  and  orderly  development.  The  first 
prominent  fact  that  strikes  the  eye  in  the  history  of 
the  three  centuries  is  that  the  sceptre  passed  from 
sovereign  to  sovereign  in  quiet  and  undisturbed 
devolution.  From  the  death  of  Valens  onward  there 
is  no  instance  of  a  military  usurper  breaking  the  line 
of  succession  till  the  crowning  of  Phocas  in  602.  The 
emperors  were  either  designated  by  their  predecessors 
or — less  frequently — chosen  by  the  high  officials  and 
the  senate.      The  regularity  of  their  sequence   is  all 


142  SOCIAL   AND   RELIGIOUS  LIFE. 

the  more  astonishing  when  we  realizje  that  only 
in  three  cases  in  the  whole  period  was  father 
succeeded  by  son.  Saving  Constantine  himself, 
Theodosius  I.,  and  Arcadius,  not  a  single  emperor 
left  male  issue  ;  yet  the  hereditary  instinct  had 
grown  so  strong  in  the  empire  that  nepliews,  sons-in- 
law,  and  brothers-in-law  of  sovereigns  were  gladly 
received  as  their  legitimate  heirs.  Considering  this 
tendency,  it  is  extraordinary  to  note  that  the  whole 
three  hundred  years  did  not  produce  a  single  unmiti- 
gated tyrant.  Constantius  II.  was  gloomy  and 
sometimes  cruel,  Valens  was  stupid  and  avaricious, 
Arcadius  utterly  weak  and  inept,  Justinian  hard  and 
thankless  ;  but  the  general  average  of  the  emperors 
were  men  of  respectable  ability,  and  in  moral 
character  they  will  compare  favourably  with  any  list 
of  sovereigns  of  similar  length  that  any  country  can 
produce. 

The  chief  modifications  which  must  be  marked  in 
the  character  of  the  empire  between  320  and  620 
depend  on  two  processes  of  gradual  change  which 
were  going  on  throughout  the  three  centuries.  The 
first  was  the  gradual  de-Romanization  (if  we  may 
coin  the  uncouth  word)  alike  of  the  governing  classes 
and  the  masses  of  population.  In  the  fourth  century 
the  Roman  impress  was  still  strong  in  the  East  ;  the 
Latin  language  was  habitually  spoken  by  every 
educated  man,  and  nearly  all  the  machinery  of  the 
administration  was  worked  in  Latin  phraseology. 
All  law  terms  are  habitually  Latin,  all  titles  of 
officers,  all  names  of  taxes  and  institutions.  Writers 
born  and  bred  in  Greece  or  Asia  still  wrote  in  Latin 


DECAY   OF   THE   LATIN   TONGUE.  I43 

ac  often  as  in  the  Greek  which  must  have  been  more 
familiar  to  them.  Ammianus  Marcellinus  may  serve 
as  a  fair  example  :  born  in  Greece,  he  wrote  in  the 
tongue  of  the  ruling  race  rather  than  in  his  own 
idiom.  Moreover  there  was  still  in  the  lands  east  of 
the  Adriatic  a  very  large  body  of  Latin-speaking 
population — comprising  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  in- 
land of  the  Balkan  peninsula,  for,  except  Greece 
proper,  Macedonia,  and  a  scattered  line  of  cities  along 
the  Thracian  coast,  the  whole  land  had  learnt  to 
speak  the  tongue  of  its  conquerors. 

By  the  seventh  century  this  Roman  element  was 
rapidly  vanishing.  It  is  true  that  the  Emperor  was  still 
hailed  as  the  "  Pius,  Felix,  Perpetuus,  Augustus  "  : 
it  was  not  till  about  A.D.  800  that  he  dropped  the 
old  style  and  called  himself  "  'Ev  Xptarcp  ttlo-to^ 
ySao-fcXeu?  TMv  'PcofjLaicov."  Nor  were  the  old  Roman 
official  titles  yet  disused  :  men  were  still  tribunes  and 
patricians,  counts  and  praetors,  but  little  more  than 
the  names  survived.  Already  in  the  sixth  century 
a  knowledge  of  Latin  was  growing  unusual  even 
among  educated  men.  The  author  Johannes  Lydus 
tells  us  that  he  owed  his  rise  in  the  civil  service 
mainly  to  this  rare  accomplishment.  Procopius,  the 
best  writer  of  the  day  and  a  man  of  real  merit  and 
discernment,  was  absolutely  ignorant  of  the  rudiments 
of  Latin,  and  blunders  when  he  tries  to  translate  the 
simplest  phrase.  Justinian  was  the  last  emperor  who 
spoke  Latin  as  his  mother  tongue,  all  his  successors 
were  better  skilled  in  Greek. 

The  gradual  disuse  of  Latin  has  its  origin  in  the 
practical — though  not   formal — solution  of  the  con- 


144  SOCIAL   AND   RELIGIOUS   LIFE. 

tinuity  between  Rome  and  the  East,  which  began 
with  the  division  of  the  empire  between  the  sons 
of  Constantine  and  became  more  complete  after 
Odoacer  made  himself  King  of  Italy  in  476.  In  the 
course  of  a  century  and  a  half  the  Latin  element  in 
the  East,  cut  off  from  the  Latin-speaking  West,  was 
bound  to  yield  before  the  predominant  Greek.  But 
the  process  would  have  been  slower  if  the  Eastern 
provinces  which  spoke  Latin  had  not  been  those 
which  suffered  most  from  the  barbarians.  The  Visi- 
goths and  Ostrogoths  harassed  and  decimated  the 
Thracians,  Illyrians,  and  Moesians,  but  the  Slavs  a 
century  later  almost  exterminated  them.  In  A.D.  400 
probably  a  quarter  of  the  provincials  east  of  the 
Adriatic  spoke  Latin  ;  in  A.D.  620  not  a  tenth.  The 
Romanized  lands  of  the  Balkan  peninsula  had  now 
become  Slavonic  principalities  :  only  the  Dalmatian 
seaports  and  a  few  scattered  survivors  in  the  Balkans 
still  used  the  old  tongue.  The  only  districts  where 
a  considerable  Latin-speaking  population  obeyed  the 
Emperor  were  Africa  and  the  Italian  Exarchate,  now 
reunited  to  Constantinople  by  the  conquests  of 
Justinian.  But  they  seem  to  have  been  too  remote 
from  the  centre  of  life  and  government  to  have 
exercised  any  influence  or  delayed  the  de- Romanizing 
of  the  East.  The  last  notable  author,  who  being  a 
subject  of  the  empire  wrote  in  Latin  as  his  native 
tongue,  was  the  po^t  Flavius  Corippus  who  addressed 
a  long  panegyric  to  Justinus  II.  :  as  might  have  been 

^^   expected,  he  was  an  African. 

j^        While  the  empire  was  losing  its  Roman  character- 
istics, it  was  at  the  same  time  growing  more  and  more 


CHRISTIANITY  AND    THE   STATE.  I45 

Christian  at  heart.  Under  Constantine  and  his  imme- 
diate successors  the  machinery  of  government  was 
only  just  beginning  to  be  effected  by  the  change  of  the 
emperor's  religion.  Though  the  sovereign  personally 
was  Christian,  the  system  remained  what  it  had  been 
before.  Many  of  the  high  officials  were  still  pagans, 
and  the  form  and  spirit  of  all  administrative  and  legal 
business  was  unaltered  from  what  it  had  been  in  the 
third  century.  It  is  not  till  forty  years  after  Constan- 
tine's  death  that  we  find  the  Christian  spirit  fully  pene- 
trating out  of  the  spiritual  into  the  material  sphere  of 
life.  Attempts  by  the  State  to  suppress  moral  sin  no 
less  than  legal  crime  begin  with  Theodosius  L,  whose 
crusade  against  sexual  immorality  would  have  been 
incomprehensible  to  even  the  best  of  the  pagan 
emperors.  The  old  gladiatorial  shows,  one  of  the 
most  characteristic  and  repulsive  features  of  Roman 
life,  were  abdished  not  long  after.  They  survived 
for  sixty  years  at  Rome,  though  Christian  Con- 
stantinople never  knew  them.  But  this  was  not  the 
work  of  the  State,  but  of  a  single  individual.  One 
day  in  A.D.  404  the  games  had  begun,  and  the  gladi- 
ators were  about  to  engage,  when  the  monk  Tele- 
machus  leapt  down  into  the  arena  and  threw  himself 
between  the  combatants,  adjuring  them  not  to  slay 
their  brethren.  There  was  an  angry  scuffle,  and  the 
good  monk  was  slain.  But  his  death  had  the  effect 
that  his  protests  might  have  failed  to  bring  about,/y/ 
and  no  gladiatorial  show  was  ever  given  again.  l. /vyjCx 

In    other   provinces   of    social    life   the    work    of      ^^^^^ 
Christianity  was  no  less  marked.      It  put  an  end  to 
the  detestable  practice  of  infanticide  which  pervaded 


1 


CHRISTIANITY   AND   SLAVERY.  I47 

the  ancient  world,  resting  on  the  assumption  that  the 
father  had  the  right  to  decide  whether  or  not  he  would 
rear  the  child  he  had  begotten.  Constantine  made 
the  State  assume  the  charge  of  feeding  and  rearing 
the  children  of  the  destitute,  lest  their  parents  should 
be  tempted  to  cast  them  forth  to  perish  in  the  old 
fashion,  and  Valentinian  I.  in  374  assimilated  infanti- 
cide to  other  forms  of  murder,  and  made  it  a  capital 
offence. 

Slavery  was  also  profoundly  affected  by  the 
teaching  of  the  Church.  The  ancient  world,  save  a 
few  philosophers,  had  regarded  the  slave  with  such 
contempt  that  he  was  hardly  reckoned  a  moral  being 
or  conceived  to  have  rights  or  virtues.  Christianity 
taught  that  he  was  a  man  with  an  immortal  soul,  no 
less  than  his  own  master,  and  bade  slaves  and 
freemen  meet  on  terms  of  perfect  equality  around 
the  baptismal  font  and  before  the  sacred  table.  It 
was  from  the  first  taught  that  the  man  who  manu- 
mitted his  slaves  earned  the  approval  of  heaven,  and 
all  occasions  of  rejoicing,  public  and  private,  were  fitly  ^k 
commemorated  by  the  liberation  of  deserving  indi- 
viduals. Though  slavery  was  not  extinguished  for 
centuries,  its  evils  were  immensely  modified  ; 
Justinian's  legislation  shows  that  by  his  time  public 
opinion  had  condemned  the  characteristic  evils  of 
ancient  slavery  :  he  permitted  the  intermarriage  of 
slaves  and  free  persons,  stipulating  only  for  the 
consent  of  the  owner  of  the  servile  partner  in  the 
wedlock.  He  declared  the  children  of  such  mixed 
marriages  free,  and  he  made  the  prostitution  of  a 
slave   by  a   master  a   criminal   offence.     Hereditary 


148  SOCIAL   AND   RELIGIOUS   LIFE. 

slavery  became  almost  unknown,  and  the  institution 
was  only  kept  up  by  the  introduction  of  barbarian 
captives,  heathens  and  enemies,  whose  position  did 
not  appeal  so  keenly  to  the  mind  of  their  captors. 

The  improvement  of  the  condition  of  all  the 
unhappy  classes  of  which  we  have  been  speaking — 
women,  infants,  slaves,  gladiators — can  be  directly 
traced  back  to  a  single  fundamental  Christian  truth. 
It  was  the  belief  in  the  importance  of  the  individual 
human  soul  in  the  eyes  of  God  that  led  the  converted 
Roman  to  realize  his  responsibility,  and  change  his 
attitude  towards  the  helpless  beings  whom  he  had 
before  despised  and  neglected.  It  is  only  fair  to  add 
that  the  realization  of  this  central  truth  did  not 
always  operate  for  good  in  the  Roman  world  of  the 
fifth  and  sixth  centuries.  Some  of  the  developments 
of  the  new  idea  were  harmful  and  even  dangerous  to 
the  State.  They  took  the  form  of  laying  such 
exclusive  stress  on  the  relations  between  the  indi- 
vidual soul  and  heaven,  that  the  duties  of  man  to 
the  State  were  half  forgotten.  Chief  among  these 
developments  was  the  ascetic  monasticism  which, 
starting  from  Egypt,  spread  rapidly  all  over  the 
empire,  more  especially  over  its  eastern  provinces. 
When  men  retire  from  their  duties  as  citizens,  intent 
on  nothing  but  on  saving  their  own  souls,  take  up  a 
position  outside  the  State,  and  cease  to  be  of  the 
slightest  use  to  society,  the  result  may  be  harmless  so 
long  as  their  numbers  are  small.  But  at  this  time  the 
monastic  impulse  was  working  on  such  a  large  scale 
that  its  development  was  positively  dangerous.  It 
was  by  thousands  and  ten  thousands  that  the  men 


EVILS   OF  MONAS 

who  ought  to  have  been  bearing  the  burdens  of  the 
State,  stepped  aside  into  the  monastery  or  the 
hermit's  cave.  The  ascetics  of  the  fifth  century  had 
neither  of  the  justifications  which  made  monasticism 
precious  in  a  later  age,  they  were  neither  missionaries 
nor  men  of  learning.  The  monastery  did  not  devote 
itself  either  to  sending  out  preachers  and  teachers,  or 
to  storing  up  and  cherishing  the  literary  treasures 
of  the  ancient  world.  The  first  abbot  to  whom  it 
occurred  to  turn  the  vast  leisure  of  his  monks  to 
good  account  by  setting  them  systematically  to  work 
at  copying  manuscripts  was  Cassiodorus,  the  ex- 
secretary  to  King  Theodoric  the  Goth  [a.d.  530-40]. 
Before  his  time  monks  and  books  had  no  special 
connection  with  each  other.  ^^^ 

When  a  State  contains  masses  of  men  who  devote 
their  whole  energies  to  a  repulsively  selfish  attempt 
to  save  their  own  individual  souls,  while  letting  the 
world  around  them  slide  on  as  best  it  may,  then  the 
body  politic  is  diseased.  The  Roman  Empire  in  its 
fight  with  the  barbarians  was  in  no  small  degree 
hampered  by  this  attitude  of  so  many  of  its  subjects. 
The  ascetic  took  the  barbarian  invasions  as  judgments 
from  heaven  rightly  inflicted  upon  a  wicked  world, 
and  not  as  national  calamities  which  called  on  every 
citizen  to  join  in  the  attempt  to  repel  them.  Many 
men  complacently  interpreted  the  troubles  of  the  fifth 
century  as  the  tribulations  predicted  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse, and  watched  them  develop  with  something  like 
joy,  since  they  must  portend  the  close  approach  of 
the  Second  Advent  of  our  Lord. 

This  apathetic  attitude  of  many  Christians  during 


r 


150  SOCIAL   AND   RELIGIOUS   LIFE, 

the  afflictions  of  the  empire  was  maddening  to  the 
heathen    minority    which    still    survived    among    the 
educated  classes.     They  roundly  accused  Christianity^ 
of  being   the    ruin    of    tlie    State    by    its    anti-social    \ 
teaching  which  led  men  to  neglect  every  duty  of  the  J 
citizen.     The  Christian   author   Oros'us  felt    himself 
compelled   to  write  a  lengthy  history  to  confute  this 
view,    aiming   his    work    at   the    pagan    Symmachus 
whose    book    had    been    devoted    to    tracing  all   the 
calamities    of     the    world     to     the     conversion     of 
Constantine. 

It  was  fortunate  for  the  empire  that  its  governing 
classes  continued  to  preserve  the  old  traditions  of 
Roman  state- craft,  and  fought  on  doggedly  against 
all  the  ills  of  their  time — barbarian  invasion,  famine, 
and  pestilence,  instead  of  bowing  to  the  yoke  and 
recognizing  in  every  calamity  the  righteous  judgment 
of  heaven  and  the  indication  of  the  approaching  end 
of  the  world. 

Paganism  had  practically  disappeared  by  the  end 
of  the  fifth  century  as  an  active  force  ;  none  save  a 
few  philosophers  made  an  open  profession  of  it,  and 
in  529  Justinian  put  a  formal  end  to  their  teaching,  by 
closing  the  schools  of  Athens,  the  last  refuge  of  the 
professors  of  the  expiring  religion.  But  if  open 
heathenism  was  dead,  a  large  measure  of  indifferent- 
ism  prevailed  among  the  educated  classes  :  many  men 
who  in  the  fifth  century  would  have  been  pagans  were 
Christians  in  name  in  the  sixth,  but  little  affected  by 
Christianity  in  their  lives.  This  type  was  extremely 
common  among  the  literary  and  official  classes.  There 
are  plenty  of  sixth-century  authors — Procopius  may 


SUPERSTITIONS,  15 1 

serve  as  an  example — whose  works  show  no  trace  of 
Christian  thought,  though  the  writer  was  undoubtedly 
a  professing  member  of  the  Church.  Similar  ex- 
amples could  be  quoted  by  the  dozen  from  among 
the  administrators,  lawyers,  and  statesmen  of  the  day, 
but  all  were  now  nominally  Christian.  As  time  went  on, 
such  men  grew  rarer,  and  the  old  stern,  non-religious 
Roman  character  passed  away  into  the  emotional 
and  superstitious  mediaeval  type  of  mind.  The 
survival  of  pre-Christian  feeling,  which  appeared  as 
indifferentism  among  the  educated  classes,  took  a  very 
different  shape  among  the  lower  strata  of  society.  It 
revealed  itself  in  a  crowd  of  gross  superstitions 
connected  with  magic,  witchcraft,  fortune-telling, 
charms,  and  trivial  or  obscene  ceremonies  practised 
in  secret.  The  State  highly  disapproved  of  such 
practices,  treated  them  as  impious  or  heretical,  and 
imposed  punishment  on  those  who  employed  them  : 
but  nevertheless  these  contemptible  survivals  of 
heathenism  persisted  down  to  the  latest  days  of^  the 
empire. 

It  has  been  usual  to  include  all  the  Eastern  Romans 
of  all  the  centuries  between  Constantine  I.  ancL//>> 
Constantine  XI.  in  one  sweeping  condemnation,  as 
cowardly,  corrupt,  and  effete.  The  ordinary  view  of 
Byzantine  life  may  be  summed  up  in  Mr.  Lecky's 
irritating  statement  ^  that  "  the  universal  verdict  of 
history  is  that  it  constitutes  the  most  base  and  despic- 
able form  that  civilization  ever  assumed,  and  that 
there  has  been  no  other  enduring  civilization  so  abso- 
lutely  destitute   of  all   the    forms    and    elements  of 

*  **  History  of  European  Morals,"  ii.  p.  13. 


ILLUMINATED  INITIALS.     {From  Byziintinc  MSS.) 
(From  ''VArt  Byzanfin.'"     Par  C.  Bayet.     Paris,  Quantin,  iJ 


WEAKNESSES   OF  BYZANTINE   SOCIETY.       153 

greatness,  none  to  which  the  epithet  mean  may  be  so 
emphatically  applied.  It  is  a  monstrous  story  of  the 
intrigues  of  priests,  eunuchs,  and  women  ;  of  poison- 
ing, conspiracies,  uniform  ingratitude,  perpetual 
fratricide."  How  Mr.  Lecky  obtained  his  universal 
verdict  of  history,  it  is  hard  to  see  :  certainly  that 
verdict  can  not  have  been  arrived  at  after  a  study  of 
the  evidence  bearing  on  the  life  of  the  persons  accused. 
It  sounds  like  a  cheap  echo  of  the  second-hand  his- 
torians of  fifty  years  ago,  whose  staple  comni^i^ity^as" 
Gibbon-and- water. 

If  we  must  sum  up  the  characteristics  of  the  East 
Romans  and  their  civilization,  the  conclusion  at  which  ^  ^ 
we  arrive  will  be  very  different.  It  is  only  fair  to  j^f, 
acknowledge  that  they  had  their  faults  :  what  else  could 
be  expected  when  we  know  that  the  foundations  of  the 
Eastern  Empire  were  laid  upon  the  Oriental  provinces 
of  the  old  Roman  world,  among  races  that  had  long 
been  stigmatized  by  their  masters  as  hopelessly  effete 
and  corrupt — Syrians,  Egyptians,  and  Hellenized 
Asiatics,  whom  even  the  degenerate  Romans  of  the 
third  century  had  been  wont  to  despise.  The  Byzan- 
tine Empire  displayed  from  its  very  cradle  a  taint  of 
weakness  derived  from  this  Oriental  origin.  It  showed 
features  particularly  obnoxious  to  the  modern  mind  of 
the  nineteenth  century — such  as  the  practice  of  a 
degrading  and  grovelling  court  etiquette,  full  of  pros- 
trations and  genuflexions,  the  introduction  of  eurmchs 
and  slaves  into  high  offices  of  State,  the  wholesale 
and  deliberate  use  of  treachery  and  lying  in  matters 
of  diplomacy. 

But    remembering   its   origins    we   shall,   on    the 


i^ 


154  SOCIAL    Ai\D   RELIGIOUS   LIFE. 

whole,  wonder  at  the  good  points  in  Byzantine  civi- 
lization rather  than  at  its  faults.  It  may  fairly  be 
said  that  Christianity  raised  the  Roman  East  to  a 
better  moral  position  than  it  had  known  for  a  thou- 
sand years.  With  all  their  faults  the  monks  and 
hermits  of  the  fifth  century  are  a  good  substitute  for 
the  priests  of  Cybele  and  Mithras  of  the  second.  It 
was  something  that  the  Government  and  the  public 
opinion  of  the  day  had  concurred  to  sweep  away  the 
orgies  of  Daphne  and  Canopus.  Church  and  State 
united  in  the  reign  of  Justinian  to  punish  with  spiritual 
and  bodily  death  the  unnatural  crimes  which  had  been 
the  open  practice  of  emperors  themselves  in  the  first 
centuries  of  the  empire. 

The  vices  of  which  the  East  Romans  have  most 
commonly  been  accused  are  cowardice,  frivolity,  and 
treachery.  On  each  of  these  points  they  have  been 
grossly  wronged.  Cowardice  was  certainly  not  the 
chief  characteristic  of  the  centuries  that  produced 
emperors  like  Theodosius  I.  and  Heraclius,  prelates 
like  Athanasius  and  Chrysostom,  public  servants  like 
Belisarius  and  Priscus.  It  is  not  for  cowardice  that 
we  note  the  Byzantine  populace  which  routed  Gainas 
and  his  mercenaries,  and  raised  the  A^z^a  sedition,  but 
for  turbulence.  If  military  virtue  was  wanting  to  the 
East-Roman  armies,  how  came  the  Ostrogoth  and 
Vandal  to  be  conquered,  the  Persian  and  the  Hun  to 
be  driven  off,  how,  above  all,  was  the  desperate  struggle 
against  the  fanatical  Saracen  protracted  for  four 
hundred  years,  till  at  last  the  Caliphate  broke  up? 

Frivolity  and  luxury  are  an  accusation  easy  to  bring 
against  any  age.     Every   moralist,  from  Jeremiah  to 


ESTIMATE   OF  BYZANTINE   SOCIETY.         I  55 

Juvenal,  and  from  Juvenal  to  Mr.  Ruskin,  has  believed 
his  own  generation  to  be  the  most  obnoxious  and 
contemptible  in  the  world's  history.  We  have  numer- 
ous tirades  against  the  manners  of  Constantinople 
preserved  in  Byzantine  literature,  and  may  judge  from 
them  something  of  the  faults  of  the  time.  It  would 
seem  that  there  was  much  of  the  sort  of  luxury  to 
which  ascetic  preachers  take  exception — much  splen- 
dour of  raiment,  much  ostentatious  display  of  plate 
and  furniture,  of  horses  and  chariots.  Luxury  and 
evil  living  often  go  together,  but  when  we  examine  all 
the  enormities  laid  to  the  charge  of  the  Byzantines, 
there  is  less  alleged  than  we  might  expect.  When 
Chrysostom  raged  against  the  contemporaries  of 
Arcadius,  his  anathemas  fell  on  such  crimes  as  the 
use  of  cosmetics  and  dyes  by  fashionable  dames,  on 
the  gambling  propensities  of  their  husbands,  on  the  im- 
moral tendencies  of  the  theatre,  on  the  drunken  orgies 
at  popular  festivals — accusations  to  which  any  age — 
our  own  included — might  plead  guilty.  The  races  of 
the  Circus  played  a  disproportionate  part  in  social  life, 
and  attracted  the  enthusiastic  attention  of  thousands 
of  votaries ;  but  it  is  surely  hard  that  our  own  age, 
with  all  its  sporting  and  athletic  interests  should  cast 
a  stone  at  the  sixth  century.  We  have  not  to  look  far 
around  us  to  discover  classes  for  whom  horse-racing 
still  presents  an  inexplicable  attraction.  When  we 
rememberthattheConstantinopolitanswereexcitable 
Orientals,  and  had  no  other  form  of  sport  to  distract 
their  attention  from  the  Circus,  we  can  easily  realise 
the  genesis  of  the  famous  riots  of  the  Blues  and  Greens. 
From  the  darker  forms  of  vice  great  cities  have 


156  SOCIAL   AND   RELIGIOUS   LIFE. 

never  been  free,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that 
Constantinople  in  the  sixth  century  differed  from 
London  in  the  nineteenth.  It  is  fair  to  point  out  that 
Christian  pubHc  opinion  and  the  Government  strove 
their  best  to  put  down  sexual  immorality.  Theo- 
dosius  and  Justinian  are  recorded  to  have  entered  upon 
the  herculean  task  of  endeavouring  to  suppress  all 
disorderly  houses  :  the  latter  made  exile  the  penalty 
for  panders  and  procuresses,  and  inflicted  death  on 
those  guilty  of  the  worst  extremes  of  immorality. 
We  must  remember,  too,  that  if  Constantinople  showed 
much  vice,  it  also  displayed  shining  examples  of  the 
social  virtues.  The  Empress  Flaccilla  was  wont  to 
frequent  the  hospitals,  and  tend  the  beds  of  the  sick. 
Of  the  monastic  severity  which  the  Empress  Pulcheria 
displayed  in  the  palace  we  have  spoken  already. 

After  cowardice  and  light  morals,  it  is  treachery 
that  is  popularly  cited  as  the  most  prominent  vice  of 
the  Eastern  Empire.  There  have  been  other  states 
and  epochs  more  given  to  plots  and  revolts,  but  it  is 
still  true  that  there  was  too  much  intrigue  at  Con- 
stantinople. The  reason  is  not  far  to  seek  :  the 
*'  carriere  ouverte  aux  talents "  practically  existed 
there,  and  the  army  and  the  civil  service  were  full  of 
poor,  able,  and  ambitious  men  of  all  races  and  classes 
mixed  together.  The  converted  Goth  or  the  renegade 
Persian,  the  half-civilized  mountaineer  from  Isauria, 
the  Copt  and  Syrian  and  Armenian  were  all  wel- 
comed in  the  army  or  civil  service,  if  only  they  had 
ability.  Both  the  bureaucracy  and  the  army  therefore 
had  elements  which  lacked  patriotism,  conscience,  and 
stability,  and  were  prone  to  seek  advancement  either 


ESTIMATE   OF   BYZANTINE    SOCIETY.  157 

by  intrigue  or  military  revolt  This  being  granted,  it 
is  perhaps  astonishing  to  have  to  record  that  between 
350  and  600  the  empire  never  once  saw  its  legitimate 
ruler  dethroned,  either  by  palace  intrigue  or  military 
revolt  The  fact  that  all  the  plots — and  there  were 
many  in  the  period — failed  hopelessly,  is,  on  the  whole, 
a  proof  that  if  there  was  much  treachery  there  was 
much  loyalty  among  the  East  Romans.  There  have 
certainly  been  periods  in  more  recent  times  which  show 
a  much  worse  record.^  A  single  instance  may  suffice 
— Mediaeval  Italy  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  fifteenth 
century  could  produce  far  more  shocking  examples 
of  conscienceless  and  unjustifiable  plotting  than  the 
Byzantine  Empire  in  the  whole  thousand  years  of  its 
existence. 

'  Mr.  Lecky  speaks  of  the  "  perpetual  fratricide  "  of  the  Byzantine 
emperors.  It  may  be  interesting  to  point  out  that  from  340  to  1453 
there  was  not  a  single  emperor  murdered  by  a  brother,  and  only  one 
dethroned  by  a  brother.    Two  were  dethroned  by  sons,  but  not  murdered. 


XII. 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  SARACENS. 

After  the  peace  of  628  the  Roman  and  the  Persian 
Empires,  drained  of  men  and  money,  and  ravaged 
from  end  to  end  by  each  others'  marauding  armies, 
sank  down  in  exhaustion  to  heal  them  of  their  deadly 
wounds.  Never  before  had  either  power  dealt  its 
neighbour  such  fearful  blows  as  in  this  last  struggle  : 
in  previous  wars  the  contest  had  been  waged  around 
border  fortresses,  and  the  prize  had  been  the  conquest 
of  some  small  slice  of  marchland.  But  Chosroes  and 
Heraclius  had  struck  deadly  blows  at  the  heart  of 
each  other's  empire,  and  harried  the  inmost  provinces 
up  to  the  gates  of  each  other's  capitals.  The  Persian 
had  turned  the  wild  hordes  of  the  Avars  loose  on 
Thrace,  and  the  Roman  had  guided  the  yet  wilder 
Chazars  up  to  the  walls  of  Ctesiphon.  Hence  it  came 
to  pass  that  at  the  end  of  the  war  the  two  powers 
were  each  weaker  than  they  had  ever  been  before. 
They  were  bleeding  at  every  pore,  utterly  wearied  and 
exhausted,  and  desirous  of  nothing  but  a  long  interval 
of  peace  to  recover  their  lost  strength. 

Precisely  at  this  moment  a  new  and  terrible  enemy 


RISE   OF  MAHOMET.  I59 

fell  upon  the  two  war-worn  combatants,  and  delivered 
an  attack  so  vehement  that  it  was  destined  to  destroy 
the  ancient  kingdom  of  Persia  and  to  shear  away  half 
the  prox^inces  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

The  politics  of  Arabia  had  up  to  this  time  been  of 
little  moment  either  to  Roman  or  Persian.  Each  of 
them  had  allies  among  the  Arab  tribes,  and  had 
sometimes  sent  an  expedition  or  an  embassy  south- 
ward, into  the  land  beyond  the  Syrian  desert.  But 
neither  of  them  dreamed  that  the  scattered  and  dis- 
united tribes  of  Arabia  would  ever  combine  or  become 
a  serious  danger. 

But  while  Heraclius  and  Chosroes  were  harrying 
each  other's  realms  events  of  world-wide  importance 
had  been  taking  place  in  the  Arabian  peninsula.  For 
the  first  and  last  time  in  history  there  had  arisen 
among  the  Arabs  one  of  those  world-compelling 
minds  that  are  destined  to  turn  aside  the  current  of 
events  into  new  channels,  and  change  the  face  of  ^^ 
whole  continents.  [^<Lp^ 

Mahomet,  that  strangest  of  moral  enigmas,  prophet     "^     ^^^ 
and  seer,  fanatic  and   impostor,   was  developing  his    /i^,    ^> 
career  all  through  the  years  of  the  Persian  war.     By  "' '  ( 

an  extraordinary  mixture  of  genuine  enthusiasm  and 
vulgar  cunning,  of  self-deception  and  deliberate  im- 
posture, of  benevolence  and  cruelty,  of  austerity  and 
licence,  he  had  worked  himself  and  his  creed  to  the 
front.  The  turbulent  polytheists  of  Arabia  had  by 
him  been  converted  into  a  compact  band  of  fanatics, 
burning  to  carry  all  over  the  world  by  the  force  of 
their  swords  their  new  war-cry,  that  "  God  was  God, 
and  Mahomet  His  prophet." 


/   /ri60'~^    THE   COMING    OF   THE   SARACENS. 

'  ^  /^M!  In  628,  the  last  year  of  the  great  war,  the  Arab 
sent  his  summons  to  Heraclius  and  Chosroes,  bidding 
them  embrace  Islam.  The  Persian  replied  with  the 
threat  that  he  would  put  the  Prophet  in  chains  when 
he  had  leisure.  The  Roman  made  no  direct  reply, 
but  sent  Mahomet  some  small  presents,  neglecting  the 
theological  bent  of  his  message,  and  only  thinking  of 
enlisting  a  possible  political  ally.  Both  answers  were 
regarded  as  equally  unsatisfactory  by  the  Prophet,  and 
he  doomed  the  two  empires  to  a  similar  destruction. 
Next  year  [629]  the  first  collision  between  the  East- 
Romans  and  the  Arabs  took  place,  a  band  of  Moslems 
having  pushed  a  raid  up  to  Muta,  near  the  Dead  Sea. 
But  it  was  not  till  three  years  later,  when  Mahomet 
himself  was  already  dead,  that  the  storm  fell  on  the 
Roman  Empire.  In  obedience  to  the  injunctions  of 
his  deceased  master,  the  Caliph  Abu  Bekr  prepared 
two  armies,  and  launched  the  one  against  Palestine 
and  the  other  against  Persia. 

Till  the  last  seven  or  eight  years  English  writers 
have  been  inclined  to  underrate  the  force  and  fury  of 
an  army  of  Mahometan  fanatics  in  the  first  flush  of 
their  enthusiasm.  Now  that  we  have  witnessed  in 
our  own  day  the  scenes  of  Tamaai  and  Abu  Klea  we 
do  so  no  longer.  The  rush  that  can  break  into  a 
British  square  bristling  with  Martini-Henry  rifles  is 
not  a  thing  to  be  despised.  For  the  future  we  shall 
not  treat  lightly  the  armies  of  the  early  Caliphs,  nor 
scoff  with  Gibbon  at  the  feebleness  of  the  troops  who 
were  routed  by  them.  If  the  soldiers  of  Queen 
Victoria,  armed  with  modern  rifles  and  artillery,  found 
the  fanatical  Arab  a  formidable  foe,  let  us  not  blame 


ARAB   INVASION   OF   SYRIA.  l6l 

the  soldiers  of  Heraclius  who  faced  the  same  enemy 
with  pike  and  sword  alone.  In  the  early  engagements 
between  the  East- Romans  and  the  Saracens  the 
superior  discipline  and  more  regular  arms  of  the  one 
were  not  a  sufficient  counterpoise  to  put  against  the 
mad  recklessness  of  the  other.  The  Moslem  wanted 
to  get  killed,  that  he  might  reap  the  fruits  of  martyr- 
dom in  the  other  world,  and  cared  not  how  he  died, 
if  he  had  first  slain  an  enemy.  The  Roman  fought 
well  enough  ;  but  he  did  not,  like  his  adversary,  yearn 
to  become  a  martyr,  and  the  odds  were  on  the  man 
who  held  his  life  the  cheapest. 

The  moment  of  the  Saracen  invasion  was  chosen 
most  unhappily  for  Heraclius.  He  had  just  paid  off 
the  enormous  debt  that  he  had  contracted  to  the 
Church,  and  to  do  so  had  not  only  drained  the  treasury 
but  imposed  some  new  and  unwise  taxes  on  the 
harassed  provincials,  and  disbanded  many  of  his 
veterans  for  the  sake  of  economy.  Syria  and  Egypt, 
after  spending  twelve  and  ten  years  respectively  under 
the  Persian  yoke,  had  not  yet  got  back  into  their  old 
organization.  Both  countries  were  much  distracted 
with  religious  troubles  ;  the  heretical  sects  of  the 
Monophysites  and  Jacobites  who  swarmed  within 
their  boundaries  had  lifted  up  their  heads  under  the 
Persian  rule,  being  relieved  from  the  governmental 
repression  that  had  hitherto  been  their  lot.  They 
seem  to  have  constituted  an  actual  majority  of  the 
population,  and  bitterly  resented  the  endeavours  of 
Heraclius  to  enforce  orthodoxy  in  the  reconquered 
provinces.  Their  discontent  was  so  bitter  that  during 
the  Saracen  invasion  they  stood  aside  and  refused  to 


l62      THE   COMING    OF   THE    SARACENS. 

help  the  imperial  armies,  or  even  on  occasion  aided  the 
alien  enemy. 

The  details  of  the  Arab  conquest  of  Syria  have 
not  been  preserved  by  the  East- Roman  historians, 
who  seem  to  have  hated  the  idea  of  recording  the 
disasters  of  Christendom.  The  Moslems,  on  the  other 
hand,  had  not  yet  commenced  to  write,  and  ere 
historians  arose  among  them,  the  tale  of  the  invasion 
had  been  intertwined  with  a  whole  cycle  of  romantic 
legends,  fitter  for  the  "  Arabian  Nights "  than  the 
sober  pages  of  a  chronicle. 

But  the  main  lines  of  the  war  can  be  reconstructed 
with  accuracy.  The  Saracen  horde  under  Abu  Obeida 
emerged  from  the  desert  in  the  spring  of  634  and 
captured  Bostra,  the  frontier  city  of  Syria  to  the  east, 
by  the  aid  of  treachery  from  within.  The  Romans 
collected  an  army  to  drive  them  off,  but  in  July  it 
was  defeated  at  Aijnadin  [Gabatha]  in  Ituraea. 
Thoroughly  roused  by  this  disaster  Heraclius  set  all 
the  legions  of  the  East  marching,  and  sixty  thousand 
men  crossed  the  Jordan  and  advanced  to  recover 
Bostra.  The  Arabs  met  them  at  the  fords  of  the 
Hieromax,  an  Eastern  tributary  of  the  Jordan,  and  a 
fierce  battle  raged  all  day.  The  Romans  drove  the 
enemy  back  to  the  very  gates  of  their  camp,  but  a 
last  charge,  headed  by  the  fierce  warrior  Khaled,  broke 
their  firm  array  when  a  victory  seemed  almost  assured. 
All  the  mailed  horsemen  of  Heraclius,  his  Armenian 
and  Isaurian  archers,  his  solid  phalanx  of  infantry, 
were  insufficient  to  resist  the  wild  rush  of  the  Arabs. 
Urged  on  by  the  cry  of  their  general,  "  Paradise  is 
before  you,  the  devil  and  hell-fire  behind,"  the  fanatical 


JERUSALEM   TAKEN.  163 

Orientals  threw  themselves  on  regiment  after  regiment 
and  drove  it  off  the  field. 

All  Syria  east  of  Jordan  was  lost  in  this  fatal  battle. 
Damascus,  its  great  stronghold,  resisted  desperately 
but  fell  early  in  635.  Most  of  its  population  were 
massacred.  This  disaster  drew  Heraclius  into  the 
field,  though  he  was  now  over  sixty,  and  was  beginning 
to  fail  in  health.  He  could  do  nothing  ;  Emesa  and  Y/  A  -k^ 
Heliopolis  were  sacked  before  his  eyes,  and  after  an  C'  v/^ 
inglorious  campaign  he  hurried  to  Jerusalem,  took  the 
"  True  Cross "  from  its  sanctuary,  where  he  had 
replaced  it  in  triumph  five  years  before,  and  retired  to 
Constantinople.  Hardly  had  he  reached  it  when  the 
news  arrived  that  his  discontented  and  demoralized 
troops  had  proclaimed  a  rebel  emperor,  though  the 
enemy  was  before  them.  The  rebel — his  name  was 
Baanes — was  put  down,  but  meanwhile  Antioch, 
Chalcis,  and  all  Northern  Syria  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Arabs. 

Worse  yet  was  to  follow.  In  the  next  year,  637, 
Jerusalem  fell,  after  a  desperate  resistance,  protracted 
for  more  than  twelve  months.  The  inhabitants 
refused  to  surrender  except  to  the  Caliph  in  person, 
and  the  aged  Omar  came  over  the  desert,  proud  to  take 
possession  of  the  city  which  Mahomet  had  reckoned 
the  holiest  site  on  earth  save  Mecca  alone.  The 
Patriarch  Sophronius  was  commanded  to  guide  the 
conqueror  around  the  city,  and  when  he  saw  the  rude 
Arab  standing  by  the  altar  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  cried  aloud,  "Now  is  the  Abomination  of 
Desolation,  which  was  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the 
prophet,  truly  in  the  Holy  Place."     The  Caliph  did 


164  THE   COMING    OF    THE    SARACENS, 

not  confiscate  any  of  the  great  Christian  sanctuaries, 
but  he  took  the  site  of  Solomon's  Temple,  and  erected 
on  it  a  magnificent  Mosque,  known  ever  since  as  the 
Mosque  of  Omar. 

The  tale  of  the  last  years  of  Herach^us  is  most 
melancholy.  The  Emperor  lay  at  Constantinople 
slowly  dying  of  dropsy,  and  his  eldest  son  Constantine 
had  to  take  the  field  in  his  stead.  But  the  young 
prince  received  a  crushing  defeat  in  638,  when  he 
attempted  to  recover  North  Syria,  and  next  year  the 
Arabs,  under  Amrou,  pressed  westward  across  the 
Isthmus  of  Suez,  and  threw  themselves  upon  Egypt. 
Two  years  more  of  fighting  sufficed  to  conquer  the 
granary  of  the  Roman  Empire  ;  and  in  February, 
641,  when  Heraclius  died,  the  single  port  of  Alex- 
andria was  the  sole  remaining  possession  of  the 
Romans  in  Egypt. 

The  ten  years'  war  which  had  torn  Syria  and  Egypt 
from  the  hands  of  the  unfortunate  Heraclius  had 
been  even  more  fatal  to  his  Eastern  neighbour.  The 
Arabs  had  attacked  the  Persian  kingdom  at  the  same 
moment  that  they  fell  on  Syria :  two  great  battles  at 
Kadesia  [636]  and  Yalulah  [637]  sufficed  to  place  all 
Western  Persia  in  the  hands  of  the  Moslems.  King 
Isdigerd,  the  last  of  the  Sassanian  line,  raised  his  last 
army  in  641,  and  saw  it  cut  to  pieces  at  the  decisive 
field  of  Nehauend.  He  fled  away  to  dwell  as  an 
exile  among  the  Turks,  and  all  his  kingdom  as  far  as 
Qy  the  borders  of  India  became  the  prey  of  the  con- 
uerors. 

Heraclius  had  married  twice  ;  by  his  first  wife, 
Eudocia,  he  left  a  single  son,  Constantine,  who  should 


THE   SONS   OF  HERACLIUS.  165 

have  been  his  sole  heir.  But  he  had  taken  a  second 
ivife,  and  this  wife  was  his  own  niece  Martina.  The 
incestuous  choice  had  provoked  much  scandal,  and 
was  the  one  grave  offence  which  could  be  brought 
against  Heraclius,  whose  life  was  in  other  respects 
blameless.  Martina,  an  ambitious  and  intriguing 
woman,  prevailed  on  her  aged  husband  to  make  her 
eldest  son,  Heracleonas,  joint-heir  with  his  half-brother 
Constantine. 

This  arrangement,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
worked  very  badly.  The  court  and  army  was  at  once 
split  up  between  the  adherents  of  the  two  young 
Emperors,  and  while  the  defence  of  the  empire  against 
the  Saracens  should  have  been  the  sole  care  of  the 
East- Romans,  they  found  themselves  distracted  by 
fierce  Court  intrigues.  Armed  strife  between  the 
Emperors  seemed  destined  to  break  out,  but  after 
reigning  only  a  few  months  Constantine  III.  died. 
It  was  rumoured  far  and  wide  that  his  step-mother 
had  poisoned  him,  to  make  the  way  clear  for  her  own 
son  Heracleonas,  who  immediately  proclaimed  himself 
sole  emperor.  The  senate  and  the  Byzantine  popu- 
lace were  both  highly  indignant  at  this  usurpation, 
for  the  deceased  Constantine  left  a  young  son  named 
Constans,  who  was  thus  excluded  from  the  throne 
to  which  he  was  the  natural  heir.  Heracleonas  had 
reigned  alone  no  more  than  a  few  weeks  when  the 
army  of  the  East  and  the  mob  of  Constantinople 
were  heard  demanding  in  angry  tones  that  Constans 
should  be  crowned  as  his  uncle's  colleague.  Hera- 
cleonas was  frightened  into  compliance,  but  his 
submission  only  saved  him  for  a  year.     In  the  summer 


l66      THE   COMING   OF   THE   SARACENS. 

of  642  the  senate  decreed  his  deposition,  and  he  was 
seized  by  the  adherents  of  Constans  and  sent  into 
exile,  along  with  his  mother  Martina.  The  victorious 
faction  very  cruelly  ordered  the  tongue  of  the  mother 
and  the  nose  of  the  son  to  be  slit — the  first  instance 
of  that  hateful  Oriental  practice  being  applied  to 
members  of  the  royal  house,  but  not  the  last. 

Constans  II.  was  sole  emperor  from  642  to  66S, 
and  his  son  and  successor,  Constantine  IV.,  reigned 
from  668  to  685.  They  were  both  strong,  hard- 
headed  warrior  princes,  fit  descendants  of  the  gallant 
Heraclius.  Their  main  credit  lies  in  the  fact  that 
they  fought  unceasingly  against  the  Saracen,  and 
preserved  as  a  permanent  possession  of  the  empire 
nearly  every  province  that  they  had  still  remained 
Roman  at  the  death  of  Heraclius.  During  the 
minority  indeed  of  Constans  IL,  Alexandria  ^  and 
Aradus,  the  two  last  ports  preserved  by  the  Romans 
in  Egypt  and  Syria  were  lost.  But  the  Saracens 
advanced  no  further  by  land  ;  the  sands  of  the 
African  desert  and  the  passes  of  Taurus  were  destined 
to  hold  them  back  for  many  years.  The  times,  how- 
ever, were  still  dangerous  till  the  murder  of  the 
Caliph  Othman  in  656,  after  which  the  outbreak  of 
the  first  civil  war  among  the  Moslems — the  contest 
of  AH  and  Moawiah  for  the  Caliphate — gave  the 
empire  a  respite.  Moawiah,  who  held  the  lands  on 
the  Roman  frontier — his  rival's  power  lying  further  to 
the  east — secured  a  free  hand  against  Ali,  by  making 

*  To  the  credit  of  Amrou  and  his  Saracens  it  must  be  recorded  that  the 
great  Alexandrian  Library  was  not  burnt  by  them  in  sheer  fanatical 
wantonness  as  the  legends  tell.     It  had  perished  long  before. 


THE    THEMES   CREATED.  167 

peace  with  Constans.  He  even  consented  to  pay 
him  a  small  annual  subsidy  so  long  as  the  truce 
should  last.  This  agreement  was  invaluable  to  the 
empire.  After  twenty-seven  years  of  incessant  war 
the  mangled  realm  at  last  obtained  an  interval  of 
repose.  It  was  something,  too,  that  the  Saracens 
were  induced  to  pause,  and  saw  that  the  extension  of 
their  conquests  was  not  destined  to  spread  at  once 
over  the  whole  world.  When  they  realized  that  their 
victories  were  not  to  go  on  for  ever,  they  lost  the  first 
keenness  of  the  fanatical  courage  which  had  made 
them  so  terrible. 

Freed  from  the  Saracen  war,  which  had  threatened 
not  merely  to  curtail,  but  to  extinguish  the  empire, 
Constans  was  at  liberty  to  turn  his  attention  to  other 
matters.  It  seems  probable  that  it  was  at  this 
moment  that  the  reorganization  of  the  provinces  of 
the  empire  took  place,  which  we  find  in  existence  in 
the  second  half  of  the  seventh  century.  The  old 
Roman  names  and  boundaries,  which  had  endured  ^/x.^ 
since  Diocletian's  time,  now  disappear,  and  the  / '  ^^ 
empire    is    found    divided    into    new   provinces    with  ^ 

strange  denominations.  They  were  military  in  theinj/^"^ 
origin,  and  each  consisted  of  the  district  covered  by 
a  large  unit  of  soldiery — what  we  should  call  an  army 
corps.  "  Theme "  meant  both  the  corps  and  the 
district  which  it  defended,  and  the  corps-commander 
was  also  the  provincial  governor.  There  were  six 
corps  in  Asia,  called  the  Armeniac,  Anatolic,  Thrace- 
sian,  Bucellarian,  Cibyrrhaeot,  and  Obsequian  themes. 
Of  these  the  first  two  explain  themselves,  they  were 
the  *'  army  of  Armenia  "  and  the  "  army  of  the  East  "  : 


l68      THE   COMING    OF   THE   SARACENS. 

the  Obsequian  theme,  quartered  along  the  Propontis, 
was  so  called  because  it  was  a  kind  of  personal  guard 
for  the  Emperor  and  the  home  districts.  The  Thrace- 
sians  were  the  "  Army  of  Thrace,"  who  in  the  stress 
of  the  war  had  been  drafted  across  to  Asia  to  rein- 
force the  Eastern  troops.  The  Bucellarii  seem  to  have 
been  corps  composed  of  natives  and  barbarian  auxi- 
liaries mixed  ;  they  are  heard  of  long  before  Con- 
stans,  and  he  probably  did  no  more  than  unite  them 
and  localize  them  in  a  single  district.  The  Cibyr- 
rhaeot  theme  alone  gets  its  name  from  a  town,  the 
port  of  Cibyra  in  Pamphylia,  which  must  have  been 
the  original  headquarters  of  the  South-Western  Army 
Corps.  Its  commander  had  a  fleet  always  in  his 
charge,  and  his  troops  were  often  employed  as 
marines. I 

The  western  half  of  the  empire  seems  to  have 
had  six  "  Themes "  also ;  they  bear  however  old 
and  familiar  names  —  Thrace,  Hellas,  Thessalonica, 
Ravenna,  Sicily,  and  Africa,  and  their  names  explain 
their  boundaries.  In  both  halves  of  the  empire  there 
were,  beside  the  great  themes,  smaller  districts  under 
the  command  of  military  governors,  who  had  charge 
of  outlying  posts,  such  as  the  passes  of  Taurus,  or  the 
islands  of  Cyprus  and  Sardinia.  Some  of  these  after- 
wards grew  into  independent  themes. 

Thus  came  to  an  end  the  old  imperial  system  of 
dividing  military  authority  and  civil  jurisdiction, 
which  Augustus  had  invented  and    Diocletian    per- 

*  Mr.  Bury's  excellent  chapter  on  "  Themes,"  in  vol.  ii.  of  his  "  Later 
Roman  Empire,"  is  most  convincing  as  to  these  very  puzzling  provinces 
and  their  origin. 


WARS   OF   CONST  A  NS   II. 


169 


petuated.  Under  stress  of  the  fearful  Saracenic 
invasion  the  civil  governors  disappear,  and  for  the 
future  a  commander  chosen  for  his  military  capacity 
has  also  to  discharge  civil  functions. 

Constans  II.,  when  once  he  had  made  peace  with 
Moawiah,  would  have  done  well  to  turn  to  the  Balkan 
Peninsula,  and  evict  the  Slavs  from  the  districts  south 
of  Haemus  into  which  they  had  penetrated  during 
the  reign  of  Heraclius.  But  he  chose  instead  to  do 
no  more  than  compel  the  Slavs  to  pay  homage  to 
him  and  give  tribute,  and  set  out  to  turn  westward, 
and  endeavour  to  drive  the  Lombards  out  of  Italy. 
Falling  on  the  Duchy  of  Benevento,  he  took  many 
towns,  and  even  laid  siege  to  the  capital.  But  he 
failed  to  take  it,  and  passed  on  to  Rome,  which  had 
not  seen  the  face  of  an  emperor  for  two  hundred 
years.  When  an  emperor  did  appear  he  brought  no 
luck,  for  Constans  signalized  his  visit  by  taking  down 
the  bronze  tiles  of  the  Pantheon  and  sending  them 
off  to  Constantinople  [664]. 

The  Emperor  lingered  no  less  than  five  years  in 
the  West,  busied  with  the  affairs  of  Italy  and  Africa, 
till  the  Constantinopolitans  began  to  fear  that  he 
would  make  Rome  or  Syracuse  his  capital.  But  in  66d> 
he  was  assassinated  in  a  most  strange  manner.  "  As 
he  bathed  in  the  baths  called  Daphne,  Andreas  his 
bathing  attendant  smote  him  on  the  head  with  his  soap- 
box, and  fled  away."  The  blow  was  fatal,  Constans 
died,  and  Constantine  his  son  reigned  in  his  stead. 

Constantine  IV.,  known  as  Pogonatus,  '*  the 
Bearded,"  reigned  for  seventeen  years,  of  which  more 
than  half  were  spent  in  one  long  struggle  with  the 


A' 


[ 


170  THE   COMING   OF   THE   SARACENS. 

Saracens.  Moawiah,  the  first  of  the  Ommeyades,  had 
now  made  himself  sole  Caliph  ;  the  civil  wars  of  the 
Arabs  were  now  over,  and  once  more  they  fell  on  the 
empire.  Constantine's  reign  opened  disastrously,  with 
simultaneous  attacks  by  the  armies  and  fleets  of 
Moawiah  on  Africa,  Sicily,  and  Asia  Minor.  But 
this  was  only  the  prelude  ;  in  6^;^  the  Caliph  made 
ready  an  expedition,  the  like  of  which  had  n-ever  yet 
been  undertaken  by  the  Saracens.  A  great  fleet  and 
land  army  started  from  Syria  to  undertake  the  siege 
of  Constantinople  itself,  an  enterprise  which  the 
Moslems  had  not  yet  attempted.  It  was  headed  by 
the  general  Abderrahman,  and  accompanied  by  Yezid, 
the  Caliph's  son  and  heir.  The  fleet  beat  the  im- 
perial navy  off  the  sea,  forced  the  passage  of  tha 
Dardanelles,  and  took  Cyzicus.  Using  that  city  as 
its  base,  it  proceeded  to  blockade  the  Bosphorus. 

The  great  glory  of  Constantine  IV.  is  that  he  with- 
stood, defeated,  and  drove  away  the  mighty  arma- 
ment of  Moawiah.  For  four  years  the  investment  of. 
Constantinople  lingered  on,  and  the  stubborn,  resis- 
tance of  the  garrison  seemed  unable  to  do  more  than 
slave  off  the  evil  day.  But  the  happy  invention  of 
fire-tubes  for  squirting  inflammable  liquids  (probably 
the  famous  •"  Greek-fire  "  of  which  we  first  hear  at 
this  time),  gave  the  Emperor's  fleet  the  superiority  in 
a  decisive  naval  battle.  At  the  same  time  a  great 
victory  was  won  on  land  and  thirty  thousand  Arabs 
slain.  Abderrahman  had  fallen  during  the  siege, 
and  his  successors  had  to  lead  back  the  mere  wrecks 
of  a  fleet  and  army  to  the  disheartened  Caliph. 

It  is  a  thousand  pities   that  the  details  of  this,  the 


REIGN  OF  CONSTANTINE  IV.  I7I 

second  great  siege  of  Constantinople,  are  not  better 
known.  But  there  is  no  good  contemporary  historian 
to  give  us  the  desired  information.  If  he  had  but 
met  with  his  "  sacred  bard,"  Constantine  IV.  might 
have  gone  down  to  posterity  in  company  with  Hera- 
clius  and  Leo  the  Isaurian,  as  the  third  great  hero  of 
the  East-Roman  Empire. 

The  year  after  the  raising  of  the  great  siege,  Moa- 
wiah  sued  for  peace,  restored  all  his  conquests,  and 
offered  a  huge  war  indemnity,  promising  to  pay 
3000  lbs.  of  gold  per  annum  for  thirty  years.  The 
report  of  the  triumph  of  Constantine  went  all  over 
the  world,  and  ambassadors  came  even  from  the 
distant  Franks  and  Khazars  to  congratulate  him  on 
the  victory  which  had  saved  Eastern  Christendom 
from  the  Arab. 

While  Constantine  was  defending  his  capital  from 
the  Eastern  enemy,  the  wild  tribes  of  his  northern 
border  took  the  opportunity  of  swooping  down  on 
the  European  provinces,  whose  troops  had  been  drawn 
off  to  resist  the  Arabs,  The  Slavs  came  down  from 
the  inland,  and  laid  siege  for  two  years  to  Thessa- 
lonica,  which  was  only  relieved  from  their  attacks 
when  Constantine  had  finished  his  war  with  Moawiah: 
But  a  far  more  dangerous  attack  was  made  by 
another  enemy  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Balkan 
Peninsula.  The  Bulgarians,  a  nomad  tribe  of  Finnish 
blood,  w^ho  dwelt  in  the  region  of  the  Pruth  and 
Dniester,  came  over  the  Danube,  subdued  the  Slavs 
of  Moesia,  and  settled  between  the  Danube  and  the 
Eastern  Balkans,  where  they  have  left  their  name  till 
this  day.     They  united  the  scattered  Slavonic  tribes 


& 


172  THE    COMING    OF   THE   SARACENS. 

of  the  region  into  a  single  strong  state,  and  the  new 
Bulgarian  kingdom  was  long  destined  to  be  a  trouble- 
some neighbour  to  the  empire.  The  date  679  counts 
as  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  Isperich  first  king  of 
Bulgaria.  Constantine  IV.  was  too  exhausted  by  his 
long  war  with  Moawiah  to  make  any  serious  attempt 
to  drive  the  Bulgarians  back  over  the  Danube,  and 
acquiesced  in  the  new  settlement. 

The  last  six  years  of  Constantine's  reign  were  spent 
in  peace.  The  only  notable  event  that  took  place  in 
them  was  the  meeting  at  Constantinople  of  the  Sixth 
Oecumenical  Council  in  680-1.  At  this  Synod,  the 
doctrine  of  the  Monothelites,  who  attributed  but  one 
will  to  Our  Lord,  was  solemnly  condemned  by  the 
united  Churches  of  the  East  and  West.  The  holders 
of  Monothelite  doctrines,  dead  and  alive,  were 
solemnly  anathematised,  among  them  Pope  Honorius 
of  Rome,  who  in  a  previous  generation  had  consented 
to  the  heresy. 

Constantine  IV.  died  in  685,  before  he  had  reached 
his  thirty  sixth  year,  leaving  his  throne  to  his  eldest 
son  Justinian,  a  lad  of  sixteen. 


XIII 
THE  FIRST  ANARCHY. 

Justinian  II.,  the  last  of  the  house  of  Heraclius, 
was  a  sovereign  of  a  different  type  from  any  emperor 
that  we  have  yet  encountered  in  the  annals  of  the 
Eastern  Empire.  He  was  a  bold,  reckless,  callous, 
and  selfish  young  man,  with  a  firm  determination  to 
assert  his  own  individuality  and  have  his  own  way, — 
he  was,  in  short,  of  the  stuff  of  which  tyrants  are 
made.  Justinian  was  but  seventeen  when  he  came  to 
the  throne,  but  he  soon  showed  that  he  intended  to 
rule  the  empire  after  his  own  good  pleasure  long 
before  he  had  begun  to  learn  the  lessons  of  state- 
craft 

Ere  he  had  reached  his  twenty-first  year  Justinian 
had  plunged  into  war  with  the  Bulgarians.  He 
attacked  them  suddenly,  inflicted  several  defeats  on 
their  king,  and  took  no  less  than  thirty  thousand 
prisoners,  whom  he  sent  over  to  Asia,  and  forced  to 
enlist  in  the  army  of  Armenia.  He  next  picked  a 
quarrel  with  the  Saracen  Caliph  on  the  most  frivolous 
grounds.  The  annual  tribute  due  by  the  treaty  of  679 
had  hitherto  been  paid  in  Roman  solidly  but  in  692 


174  ^^^   FIRST  ANARCHY. 

Abdalmalik  tendered  it  in  new  gold  coins  of  his  own 
mintage,  bearing  verses  of  the  Koran.  Justinian  re- 
fused to  receive  them,  and  xleclared  war. 

His  second  venture  in  the  field  was  disastrous:  his 
unwilling  recruits  from  Bulgaria  deserted  to  the 
enemy,  when  he  met  the  Saracens  at  Sebastopolis  in 
Cilicia,  and  the  Roman  army  was  routed  with  great 
slaughter.  The  two  subsequent  campaigns  were 
equally  unsuccessful,  and  the  troops  of  the  Caliph 
harried  Cappadocia  far  and  wide. 

Justinian's  wars  depleted  his  treasury  ;  yet  he  per- 
sisted in  plunging  into  expensive  schemes  of  building 
at  the  same  time,  and  was  driven  to  collect  money 
by  the  most  reckless  extortion.  He  employed  two 
unscrupulous  ministers,  The^otus,  the  accountant 
general — an  ex-abbot  who  had  deserted  his  monastery 
— and  the  eunuch  Stephanus,  the  keeper  of  the  privy 
purse.  These  men  were  to  Justinian  what  Ralph 
Flambard  was  to  William  Rufus,  or  Empson  and 
Dudley  to  Henry  VH  :  they  raised  him  funds  by 
flagrant  extortion  and  illegal  stretching  of  the  law. 
Both  were  violent  and  cruel  :  Theodotus  is  said  to 
have  hung  recalcitrant  tax-payers  up  by  ropes  above 
smoky  fires  till  they  were  nearly  stifled.  Stephanus 
thrashed  and  stoned  every  one  who  fell  into  his  hands  ; 
he  is  reported  to  have  actually  administered  a 
whipping  to  the  empress-dowager  during  the  absence 
of  her  son,  and  Justinian  did  not  punish  him  when  he 
returned. 

While  the  emperor's  financial  expedients  were 
making  him  hated  by  the  moneyed  classes,  he  was 
rendering   himself  no   less    unpopular   in  the  army. 


USURPATION   OF  LEONTIUS.  175 

After  his  ill-success  in  the  Saracen  war,  he  began  to 
execute  or  imprison  his  officers,  and  to  decimate  his 
beaten  troops  :  to  be  employed  by  him  in  high  com- 
mand was  almost  as  dangerous  as  it  was  to  be 
appointed  a  general-in- chief  during  the  dictatorship 
of  Robespierre. 

In  695  the  cup  of  Justinian's  iniquities  was  full. 
An  officer  named  Leontius  being  appointed,  to  his 
great  dismay,  general  of  the  "  theme  "  of  Hellas,  was 
about  to  set  out  to  assume  his  command.  As  he 
parted  from  his  friends  he  exclaimed  that  his  days 
were  numbered,  and  that  he  should  be  expecting  the 
order  for  his  execution  to  arrive  at  any  moment. 
Then  a  certain  monk  named  Paul  stood  forth,  and 
bade  him  save  himself  by  a  bold  stroke  ;  if  he  would 
aim  a  blow  at  Justinian  he  would  find  the  people 
and  the  army  ready  to  follow  him. 

Leontius  took  the  monk's  counsel,  and  rushing  to 
the  state  prison,  at  the  head  of  a  few  friends,  broke  it 
open  and  liberated  some  hundreds  of  political 
prisoners.  A  mob  joined  him,  he  seized  the 
Cathedral  of  St  Sophia,  and  then  marched  on  the 
palace.  No  one  would  fight  for  Justinian,  who  was 
caught  and  brought  before  the  rebel  leader  in  com- 
pany with  his  two  odious  ministers.  Leontius  bade 
his  nose  be  slit,  and  banished  him  to  Cherson.  Theo- 
dotus  and  Stephanus  he  handed  over  to  the  mob,  who 
dragged  them  round  the  city  and  burnt  them  alive. 

Twenty  years  of  anarchy  followed  the  usurpation  of 
Leontius.  The  new  emperor  was  not  a  man  of 
capacity,  and  had  been  driven  into  rebellion  by  his 
fears  rather  than  his  ambition.     He  held  the  throne 


176 


THE    FIRST   ANARCHY. 


barely  three  years,  amid  constant  revolts  at  home  and 
defeats  abroad.  The  Asiatic  frontier  was  ravaged  by 
the  armies  of  Abdalmalik,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
great  disaster  befel  the  western  half  of  the  empire. 
A  Saracen  army  from  Egypt  forced  its  way  into  Africa, 
where  the  Romans  had  still  maintained  themselves  by 


CHURCH    OV   THE   TWELVE    APOSTLES    AT   THESSALONICA. 

{^From^'VArtByzantiny    Par  Charles  Bay et.    Paris,  Quafiltn,  iSS^.) 

hard  fighting  while  the  emperors  of  the  house  of 
Heraclius  reigned.  They  reduced  all  its  fortresses 
one  after  the  other,  and  finally  took  Carthage  in  697 
— a  hundred  and  sixty-five  years  after  it  had  been 
restored  to  the  empire  by  Belisarius. 


FALL   OF  LEONTIUS.  177 

The  larger  part  of  the  army  of  Africa  escaped  by 
sea  from  Carthage  when  the  city  fell.  The  officers 
in  command  sailed  for  Constantinople,  and  during 
their  voyage  plotted  to  dethrone  Leontius.  They 
enlisted  in  their  scheme  Tiberius  Apsimarus,  who 
commanded  the  imperial  fleet  in  the  Aegean,  and  pro- 
claimed him  emperor  when  he  joined  them  with  his 
galleys.  The  troops  of  Leontius  betrayed  the  gates 
of  the  capital  to  the  followers  of  the  rebel  admiral, 
and  Apsimarus  seized  Constantinople.  He  pro- 
claimed himself  emperor  by  the  title  of  Tiberius,  third 
of  that  name,  and  condemned  his  captive  rival  to  the 
same  fate  that  he  himself  had  inflicted  on  Justinian 
II.  Accordingly  the  nose  of  Leontius  was  slit,  and 
he  was  placed  in  confinement  in  a  monastery. 

Tiberius  III.  was  more  fortunate  in  his  reign  than 
his  predecessor  :  his  troops  gained  several  victories 
over  the  Saracens,  recovered  the  frontier  districts 
which  Justinian  II.  and  Leontius  had  lost,  and  even 
invaded  Northern  Syria.  But  these  successes  did  not 
save  Tiberius  from  suffering  the  same  doom  which 
had  fallen  on  Justinian  and  Leontius.  The  people 
and  army  were  out  of  hand,  the  ephemeral  emperor 
could  count  on  no  loyalty,  and  any  shock  was  sufficient 
to  upset  his  precarious  throne. 

We  must  now  turn  to  the  banished  Justinian,  who 
had  been  sent  into  exile  with  his  nose  mutilated.  He 
had  been  transported  to  Cherson,  the  Greek  town  in 
the  Crimea,  close  to  the  modern  Sebastopol,  which 
formed  the  northernmost  outpost  of  civilization,  and 
enjoyed  municipal  liberty  under  the  suzerainty  of  the 
empire.     Justinian  displayed  in  his  day  of  adversity 


178  THE   FIRST   ANARCHY. 

a  degree  of  capacity  which  astonished  his  con- 
temporaries. He  fled  from  Cherson  and  took  refuge 
with  the  Khan  of  the  Khazars,  the  Tartar  tribe  who 
dwelt  east  of  the  Sea  of  Azof.  With  this  prince  the 
exile  so  ingratiated  himself  that  he  received  in 
marriage  his  sister,  who  was  baptized  and  christened 
Theodora.  But  Tiberius  III.  sent  great  sums  of 
money  to  the  Khazar  to  induce  him  to  surrender 
Justinian,  and  the  treacherous  barbarian  determined 
to  accept  the  bribe,  and  sent  secret  orders  to  two  of 
his  officers  to  seize  his  brother-in-law.  The  emperor 
learnt  of  the  plot  through  his  wife,  and  saved  himself 
by  the  bold  expedient  of  going  at  once  to  one  of  the 
two  Khazar  chiefs  and  asking  for  a  secret  interview. 
When  they  were  alone  he  fell  on  him  and  strangled 
him,  and  then  calling  on  the  second  Khazar  served 
him  in  the  same  fashion,  before  the  Khan's  orders 
had  been  divulged  to  any  one. 

This  gave  him  time  to  escape,  and  he  fled  in  a 
fishing  boat  out  into  the  Euxine  with  a  few  friends 
and  servants  who  had  followed  him  into  exile.  While 
they  were  out  at  sea  a  storm  arose,  and  the  boat 
began  to  fill.  One  of  his  companions  cried  to 
Justinian  to  make  his  peace  with  God,  and  pardon 
his  enemies  ere  he  died.  But  the  Emperor's  stern 
soul  was  not  bent  by  the  tempest.  "  May  God  drown 
me  here,"  he  answered,  "  if  1  spare  a  single  one  of  my 
enemies  if  ever  I  get  to  land  ! "  The  boat  weathered 
the  storm,  and  Justinian  survived  to  carry  out  his 
cruel  oath.  He  came  ashore  in  the  land  of  the 
Bulgarians,  and  soon  won  favour  with  their  king 
Terbel,  who  wanted  a  good  excuse  for  invading  the 


RESTORATION   OF  JUSTINIAN  II.  179 

empire,  and  found  it  in  the  pretence  of  supporting 
the  exiled  monarch.  With  a  Bulgarian  army  at  his 
back  Justinian  appeared  before  Constantinople,  and 
obtained  an  entrance  af  night  near  the  gate  of 
Blachernae.  There  was  no  fighting,  for  the  adherents 
of  Tiberius  were  as  unready  to  strike  a  blow  for  their 
master  as  the  followers  of  Leontius  had  been  [705 
A.D.] 

So  Justinian  recovered  his  throne  without  fighting, 
for  the  people  had  by  this  time  half  forgotten  his 
tyranny,  and  regretted  the  rule  of  the  house  of 
Heraclius.  But  they  were  soon  to  find  out  that  they 
had  erred  in  submitting  to  the  exile,  and  should  have 
resisted  him  at  all  hazards.  Justinian  came  back  in 
a  relentless  mood,  bent  on  nothing  but  revenging  his 
mutilated  nose  and  his  ten  years  of  exile.  His  first 
act  was  to  send  for  the  two  usurpers  who  had  sat 
on  his  throne  :  Leontius  was  brought  out  from  his 
monastery,  and  Tiberius  caught  as  he  tried  to  flee 
into  Asia.  Justinian  had  them  led  round  the  city  in 
chains,  and  then  bound  them  side  by  side  before  his 
throne  in  the  Cathisma,  the  imperial  box  at  "the 
Hippodrome.  There  he  sat  in  state,  using  their  pros- 
trate bodies  as  a  footstool,  while  his  adherents  chanted 
the  verse  from  the  ninety-first  Psalm,  "  Thou  shalt 
tread  on  the  lion  and  asp  :  the  young  lion  and  dragon 
shalt  thou  trample  under  thy  feet."  The  allusion  was 
to  the  names  of  the  usurpers,  the  Lion  and  Asp  being 
Leontius  and  Apsimarus  ! 

After  this  strange  exhibition  the  two  ex-emperors 
were  beheaded.  Their  execution  began  a  reign  of 
terror,  for  Justinian  had  his  oath  to  keep,  and  was  set 


l8o  THE   FIRST  ANARCHY, 

on  wreaking  vengeance  on  every  one  who  had  been 
concerned  in  his  deposition.  He  hanged  all  the  chief 
officers  and  courtiers  of  Leontius,  and  put  out  the 
eyes  of  the  patriarch  who  had  crowned  him.  Then 
he  set  to  work  to  hunt  out  meaner  victims  :  many 
prominent  citizens  of  Constantinople  were  sown  up  in 
sacks  and  drowned  in  the  Bosphorus.  Soldiers  were 
picked  out  by  the  dozen  and  beheaded.  A  special 
expedition  was  sent  by  sea  to  sack  Cherson,  the  city 
of  the  Emperor's  exile,  because  he  had  a  grudge 
against  its  citizens.  The  chief  men  were  caught  and 
sent  to  the  capital,  where  Justinian  had  them  bound 
to  spits  and  roasted. 

These  atrocities  were  mere  samples  of  the  general 
conduct  of  Justinian.  In  a  few  years  he  had  made 
himself  so  much  detested  that  it  might  be  said  that 
he  had  been  comparatively  popular  in  the  days  of  his 
first  reign. 

The  end  came  into  71 1,  when  a  general  named 
Philippicus  took  arms,  and  seized  Constantinople 
while  Justinian  was  absent  at  Sinope.  The  army  of 
the  tyrant  laid  down  their  arms  when  Philippicus 
approached,  and  he  was  led  forth  and  beheaded 
without  further  delay — an  end  too  good  for  such  a 
monster.  The  conqueror  also  sought  out  and  slew 
his  little  son  Tiberius,  whom  the  sister  of  the  Khan 
of  the  Khazars  had  borne  to  him  during  his  exile. 
So  ended  the  house  of  Heraclius,  after  it  had  sat  for 
five  generations  and  one  hundred  and  one  years  on 
the  throne  of  Constantinople. 

The  six  years  which  followed  were  purely  anarchical. 
J  ustinian's  wild  and  wicked  freaks  had  completed  the 


ANARCHY,    711-17   A.D.  181 

demoralization  which  had  already  set  in  before  his 
restoration.  Everything  in  the  army  and  the  state 
was  completely  disorganized  and  out  of  gear.  It 
required  a  hero  to  restore  the  machinery  of  govern- 
ment and  evolve  order  out  of  chaos.  But  the  hero 
was  not  at  once  forthcoming,  and  the  confusion  went 
on  increasing. 

To  replace  Justinian  by  Philippiciis  was  only  to 
substitute  King  Log  for  King  Stork.  The  new 
emperor  was  a  mere  man  of  pleasure,  and  spent  his 
time  in  personal  enjoyment,  letting  affairs  of  state 
slide  on  as  best  they  might.  In  less  than  two  years 
he  was  upset  by  a  conspiracy  which  placed  on  the 
throne  Artemius  Anastasius,  his  own  chief  secretary. 
Philippicus  was  blinded,  and  compelled  to  exchange 
the  pleasures  of  the  palace  for  the  rigours  of  a 
monastery.  But  the  Court  intrigue  which  dethroned 
Philippicus  did  not  please  the  army,  and  within  two 
years  Anastasius  was  overthrown  by  the  soldiers  of 
the  Obsequian  theme,  who  gave  the  imperial  crown 
to  Theodosius  of  Adrammytium,  a  respectable  but 
obscure  commissioner  of  taxes.  More  merciful  than 
any  of  his  ephemeral  predecessors,  Theodosiojs  III.  dis- 
missed Anastasius  unharmed,  after  compelling  him  to 
take  holy  orders, 

Meanwhile  the  organization  of  the  empire  was 
visibly  breaking  up.  "  The  affairs  both  of  the  realm 
and  the  city  were  neglected  and  decaying,  civil 
education  was  disappearing,  and  military  discipline 
dissolved."  The  Bulgarian  and  Saracen  commenced 
once  more  to  ravage  the  frontier  provinces,  and  every 
year  their  ravages  penetrated  further   inland.      The 


l82  THE  FIRST  ANARCHY, 

Caliph  Welid  was  so  impressed  with  the  opportunity 
offered  to  him,  that  he  commenced  to  equip  a  great 
armament  in  the  ports  of  Syria  with  the  express  pur- 
pose of  laying  siege  to  Constantinople.  No  one 
hindered  him,  for  the  army  raised  to  serve  against 
him  turned  aside  to  engage  in  the  civil  war  between 
Anastasius  and  Theodosius.  The  landmarks  of  the 
Saracens'  conquests  by  land  are  found  in  the  falls  of 
the  great  cities  of  Tyana  [710],  Amasia  [712],  and 
Antioch-in-Pisidia  [713].  They  had  penetrated  into 
Phrygia  by  716,  and  were  besieging  the  fortress  of 
Amorium  with  every  expectation  of  success,  when  at 
last  there  appeared  the  man  who  was  destined  to 
save  the  East- Roman  Empire  from  a  premature  dis- 
memberment. 

This  was  Leo  the  Isaurian,  one  of  the  few  military 
officers  who  had  made  a  great  reputation  amid  the 
fearful  disasters  of  the  last  ten  years.  He  was  now 
general  of  the  "  Anatolic  "  theme,  the  province  which 
included  the  old  Cappadocia  and  Lycaonia.  After 
inducing  the  Saracens,  more  by  craft  than  force,  to 
raise  the  siege  of  Amorium,  Leo  disowned  his 
allegiance  to  the  incapable  Theodosius  and  marched 
toward  the  Bosphorus. 

The  unfortunate  emperor,  who  had  not  coveted  the 
throne  he  occupied,  nor  much  desired  to  retain  it, 
allowed  his  army  to  risk  one  engagement  with  the 
troops  of  Leo.  When  it  was  beaten  he  summoned 
the  Patriarch,  the  Senate,  and  the  chief  officers  of  the 
court,  pointed  out  to  them  that  a  great  Saracen 
invasion  was  impending,  that  civil  war  had  begun, 
and  that  he  himself  did  not  wish  to  remain  responsible 


ACCESSION   OF  LEO    THE   ISAURIAN. 


183 


for  the  conduct  of  affairs.  With  his  consent  the 
assembly  resolved  to  offer  the  crown  to  Leo,  who 
formally  accepted  it  early  in  the  spring  of  717. 

Theodosius  retired  unharmed  to  Ephesus,  where  he 
lived  for  many  years.  When  he  died  the  single  word 
TFIEIA,  "  Health,"  was  inscribed  on  his  tomb  ac- 
cording to  his  last  directions. 


.y^ 


XIV. 


THE   SARACENS   TURNED   BACK. 


BV  dethroning  Theodosius  III.  on  the  very  eve  of 
the  great  Saracen  invasion,  Leo  the  Isaurian  took 
upon  himself  the  gravest  of  responsibilities.  With  a 
demoralized  army,  which  of  late  had  been  more 
accustomed  to  revolt  than  to  fight,  a  depleted  treasury, 
and  a  disorganized  civil  service,  he  had  to  face  an 
attack  even  more  dangerous  than  that  which  Con- 
stantine  IV.  had  beaten  off  thirty  years  before. 
Constantine  too,  the  fourth  of  a  race  of  hereditary 
rulers,  had  a  secure  throne  and  a  loyal  army,  while 
Leo  was  a  mere  adventurer  who  had  seized  the 
crown  only  a  few  months  before  he  was  put  to  the 
test  of  the  sword. 

The  reigning  Caliph  was  now  Suleiman,  the  seventh 
of  the  house  of  the  Ommeyades.  He  had  strained 
all  the  resources  of  his  wide  empire  to  provide  a  fleet 
and  army  adequate  to  the  great  enterprise  which  he 
had  taken  in  hand.  The  chief  command  of  the 
expedition  was  given  to  his  brother  Moslemah,  who 
led  an  army  of  eighty  thousand  men  from  Tarsus 
across   the    centre  of  Asia  Minor,  and    marched   on 


CONSTANTINOPLE   BELEAGUERED.  185 

the  Hellespont,  taking  the  strong  city  of  Pergamus 
on  his  way.  Meanwhile  a  fleet  of  eighteen  hundred 
sail  under  the  vizier  Suleiman,  namesake  of  his 
master  the  Caliph,  sailed  from  Syria  for  the  Aegean, 
carrying  a  force  no  less  than  that  which  marched  by 
land.  Fleet  and  army  met  at  Abydos  on  the  Helles- 
pont without  mishap,  for  Leo  had  drawn  back  all  his 
resources,  naval  and  military,  to  guard  his  capital. 

In  August,  717,  only  five  months  after  his  coronation, 
the  Isaurian  saw  the  vessels  of  the  Saracens  sailing 
up  the  Propontis,  while  their  army  had  crossed  into 
Thrace  and  was  approaching  the  city  from  the 
western  side.  Moslemah  caused  his  troops  to  build 
a  line  of  circumvallation  from  the  sea  to  the  Golden 
Horn,  cutting  Constantinople  off  from  all  communi- 
cation with  Thrace,  while  Suleiman  blocked  the 
southern  exit  of  the  Bosphorus,  and  tried  to  close  it 
on  the  northern  side  also,  so  as  to  prevent  any 
supplies  coming  by  water  from  the  Euxine.  Leo, 
however,  sallied  forth  from  the  Golden  Horn  with  his 
galleys  and  fire-vessels  bearing  the  dreaded  Greek 
fire,  and  did  so  much  harm  to  the  detachment  of 
Saracen  ships  which  had  gone  northward  up  the 
strait,  that  the  blockade  was  never  properly  established 
on  that  side. 

The  Saracens  relied  more  on  starving  out  the  city 
than  on  taking  it  by  storm  :  they  had  come  provided 
with  everything  necessary  for  a  blockade  of  many 
months,  and  sat  down  as  if  intending  to  remain  before 
the  walls  for  an  indefinite  time.  But  Constantinople 
had  been  provisioned  on  an  even  more  lavish  scale  ; 
each  family  had  been  bidden  to  lay  in  a  stock  of  corn 


1 86  THE    SARACENS    TURNED   BACK. 

for  no  less  a  period  than  two  years,  and  famine 
appeared  in  the  camp  of  the  besiegers  long  ere  it  was 
felt  in  the  houses  of  the  besieged.  Nor  had  Mos- 
lemah  and  Suleiman  reckoned  with  the  climate. 
Hard  winters  occasionally  occur  by  the  Black  Sea,  as 
the  troops  learnt  to  their  cost  in  the  Crimean  War. 
But  the  Saracens  were  served  ev^en  worse  by  the 
winter  of  717-18,  when  the  frost  never  ceased  for 
twelve  weeks.  Leo  might  have  boasted,  like  Czar 
Nicholas,  that  December,  January,  and  February  were 
his  best  generals — for  these  months  wrought  fearful 
havoc  in  the  Saracen  host.  The  lightly  clad 
Orientals  could  not  stand  the  weather,  and  died  off 
like  flies  of  dysentery  and  cold.  The  vizier  Suleiman 
was  among  those  who  perished.  Meanwhile  the 
Byzantines  suffered  little,  being  covered  by  roofs  all 
the  winter. 

When  next  spring  came  round  Moslemah  would 
have  had  to  raise  the  siege  if  he  had  not  been  heavily 
reinforced  both  by  sea  and  land.  A  fleet  of  reserve 
arrived  from  Egypt,  and  a  large  army  came  up  from 
Tarsus  and  occupied  the  Asiatic  shores  of  the  Bos- 
phorus. 

But  Leo  did  not  despair,  and  took  the  offensive  in 
the  summer.  His  fire-ships  stole  out  and  burnt  the 
Egyptian  squadron  as  it  lay  at  anchor.  A  body  of 
troops  landing  on  the  Bithynian  coast,  surprised  and 
cut  to  pieces  the  Saracen  army  which  watched  the 
other  side  of  the  strait.  Soon,  too,  famine  began  to 
assail  the  enemy  ;  their  stores  of  provisions  were  now 
giving  out,  and  they  had  harried  the  neighbourhood  so 
fiercely  that  no  more  food  could  be  got  from  near  at 


THE  SIEGE  RAISED.  187 

hand,  while  if  they  sent  foraging  parties  too  far  from 
their  h'nes  they  were  cut  off  by  the  peasantry.  At  last 
Moslemah  suffered  a  disaster  which  compelled  him  to 
abandon  his  task.  The  Bulgarians  came  down  over 
the  Balkans,  and  routed  the  covering  army  which 
observed  Adrianople  and  protected  the  siege  on  the 
western  side.  No  less  than  twenty  thousand  Sara- 
cens fell,  by  the  testimony  of  the  Arab  historians 
themselves,  and  the  survivors  were  so  cowed  that 
Moslemah  gave  the  order  to  retire.  The  fleet  ferried 
the  land  army  back  into  Asia,  and  both  forces  started 
homeward.  Moslemah  got  back  to  Tarsus  with  only 
thirty  thousand  men  at  his  back,  out  of  more  than 
a  hundred  thousand  who  had  started  with  him  or 
come  to  him  as  reinforcements.  The  fleet  fared  even 
worse  :  it  was  caught  by  a  tempest  in  the  Aegean,  and 
so  fearfully  shattered  that  it  is  said  that  only  five 
vessels  out  of  the  whole  Armada  got  back  to  Syria 
unharmed. 

Thus  ended  the  last  great  endeavour  of  the  Saracen 
to  destroy  Constantinople.  The  task  was  never 
essayed  again,  though  for  three  hundred  and  fifty 
years  more  wars  were  constantly  breaking  out 
between  the  Emperor  and  the  Caliph.  In  the  future 
they  were  always  to  be  border  struggles,  not  des- 
perate attenrxpts  to  strike  at  the  heart  of  the  empire, 
and  conquer  Europe  for  Islam.  To  Leo,  far  more  i 
than  to  his  contemporary  the  Frank  Charles  Martel,' 
is  the  delivery  of  Christendom  from  the  Moslem 
danger  to  be  attributed.  Charles  turned  back  a 
plundering  horde  sent  out  from  an  outlying  province 
of  the  Caliphate.     Leo  repulsed  the  grand-army  of 


l88  THE   SARACENS    TURNED    BACK. 

the  Saracens,  raised  from  the  whole  of  their  eastern 
realms,  and  commanded  by  the  brother  of  their 
monarch.  Such  a  defeat  was  well  calculated  to 
impress  on  their  fatalistic  minds  the  idea  that  Con- 
stantinople was  not  destined  by  providence  to  fall 
into  their  hands.  They  were  by  this  time  far  removed 
from  the  frantic  fanaticism  which  had  inspired  their 
grandfathers,  and  the  crushing  disaster  they  had  now 
sustained  deterred  them  from  any  repetition  of  the 
attempt.  Life  and  power  had  grown  so  pleasant  to 
them  that  martyrdom  was  no  longer  an  "  end  in 
itself"  ;  they  preferred,  if  checked,  to  live  and  fight 
another  day. 

Leo  was,  however,  by  no  means  entirely  freed  from 
the  Saracens  by  his  victory  of  718.  At  several  epochs 
in  the  latter  part  of  his  reign  he  was  troubled  by 
invasions  "of  his  border  provinces.  None  of  them, 
however,  were  really  dangerous,  and  after  a  victory 
won  over  the  main  army  of  the  raiders  in  739  at 
Acroinon  in  Phrygia,  Asia  Minor  was  finally  freed 
from  their  presence. 


XV. 


THE  ICONOCLASTS. 


(A.D.    720-802.) 

If  Leo  the  I  saurian  had  died  on  the  day  on  which 
the  army  of  the  Caliph  raised  the  siege  of  Constanti- 
nople it  would  have  been  well  for  his  reputation  in 
history.  Unhappily  for  himself,  though  happily 
enough  for  the  East-Roman  realm,  he  survived  yet 
twenty  years  to  carry  through  a  series  of  measures 
which  were  in  his  eyes  not  less  important  than  the 
repulse  of  the  Moslems  from  his  capital.  Historians 
have  given  to  the  scheme  of  reform  which  he  took  in 
hand  the  name  of  the  Iconoclastic  movement,  because 
of  the  opposition  to  the  worship  of  images  which 
formed  one  of  the  most  prominent  features  of  his 
action. 

For  the  last  hundred  years  the  empire  had  been 
declining  in  culture  and  civilization  ;  literature  and 
art  seemed  likely  to  perish  in  the  never-ending  clash 
of  arms :  the  old-Roman  jurisprudence  was  being 
forgotten,  the  race  of  educated  civil  servants  was 
showing  signs  of  extinction,  the  governors  of  pro- 
vinces  were   now  without  exception  rough  soldiers, 


IQO  THE   ICONOCLASTS. 

not  members  of  that  old  bureaucracy  whose  Roman 
traditions  had  so  long  kept  the  empire  together.  Not 
least  among  the  signs  of  a  decaying  civilization  were 
the  gross  superstitions  which  had  grown  up  of  late  in 
the  religious  world.  Christianity  had  begun  to  be 
permeated  by  those  strange  mediaeval  fancies  which 
would  have  been  as  inexplicable  to  the  old-Roman 
mind  of  four  centuries  before  as  they  are  to  the  mind 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  A  rich  crop  of  puerile 
legends,  rites,  and  observances  had  grown  up  of  late 
around  the  central  truths  of  religion,  unnoticed  and 
unguarded  against  by  theologians,  who  devoted  all 
their  energies  to  the  barren  Monothelite  and  Mono- 
physite  controversies.  Image-worship  and  relic- 
worship  in  particular  had  developed  with  strange 
rapidity,  and  assumed  the  shape  of  mere  Fetishism. 
Every  ancient  picture  or  statue  was  now  announced 
as  both  miraculously  produced  and  endued  with 
miraculous  powers.  These  wonder-working  pictures 
and  statues  were  now  adored  as  things  in  themselves 
divine :  the  possession  of  one  of  themi  made  the 
fortune  of  a  church  or  monastery,  and  the  tangible 
object  of  worship  seems  to  have  been  regarded  with 
quite  as  much  respect  as  the  saint  whose  memory  it 
recalled.  The  freaks  to  which  image-worship  led 
were  in  some  cases  purely  grotesque  ;  it  was,  for 
example,  not  unusual  to  select  a  picture  as  the  god- 
father of  a  child  in  baptism,  and  to  scrape  off  a  little 
of  its  paint  and  produce  it  at  the  ceremony  to 
represent  the  saint.  Even  patriarchs  and  bishops 
ventured  to  assert  that  the  hand  of  a  celebrated 
representation  of  the  Virgin  distilled  fragrant  balsam. 


SUPERSTITIOUS    VANITIES. 


191 


The  success  of  the  Emperor  Heraclius  in  his  Persian 
campaign  was  ascribed  by  the  vulgar  not  so  much  to 
his  military  talent  as  to  the  fact  that  he  carried  with 
him  a  small  picture  of  the  Virgin,  which  had  fallen 
from  heaven  ! 
F 


BISliOPS,    MU-NKS,    K1NG.D,    LAY.MExN,    AND    WOMEN,    ADORING    THl:. 

MADONNA.     {Fi-om  a  Byzantine  MS.) 
{From  '■'■VArt  Byzaiitin.'^    Par  Charles  Bayct.    Paris,  Quantin,  1883.) 

All  these  vain  beliefs,  inculcated  by  the  clergy  and 
eagerly  believed  by  the  mob,  were  repulsive  to  the 
educated  laymen  of  the  higher  classes.  Their  dislike 
for  vain  superstitions  was  emphasized  by  the  influence 


^Ki 


192  THE   ICONOCLASTS, 

of  Mahometan  ism.  on  their  minds.  For  a  hundred 
years  the  inhabitants  of  the  Asiatic  provinces  of  the 
empire  had  been  in  touch  with  a  religion  of  which  the 
noblest  feature  was  its  emphati(!^  denunciation  of 
idolatry  under  every  shape  and  form.  An  East- 
Roman,  when  taunted  by  his  Moslem  neighbour  for 
clinging  to  a  faith  which  had  grown  corrupt  and 
idolatrous,  could  not  but  confess  that  there  was  too 
much  ground  for  the  accusation,  when  he  looked  round 
on  the  daily  practice  of  his  countrymen. 

Hence  there  had  grown  up  among  the  stronger 
minds  of  the  day  a  vigorous  reaction  against  the  pre- 
vailing superstitions.  It  was  more  visible  among  the 
laity  than  among  the  clergy,  and  far  more  widespread 
in  Asia  than  in  Europe.  In  Leo  the  Isaurian  this 
tendency  stood  incarnate  in  its  most  militant  form, 
and  he  left  the  legacy  of  his  enthusiasm  to  his  de- 
scendants. Seven  years  after  the  relief  of  Constanti- 
nople he  commenced  his  crusade  against  superstition. 
The  chief  practices  which  he  attacked  were  the  worship 
of  images  and  the  ascription  of  divine  honours  to 
saints — more  especially  in  the  form  of  Mariolatry. 
His  son  Constantine,  more  bold  and  drastic  than  his 
father,  endeavoured  to  suppress  monasticism  also,  be- 
cause he  found  the  monks  the  most  ardent  defenders 
of  images  ;  but  Leo's  own  measures  went  no  further 
than  a  determined  attempt  to  put  down  image- 
worship. 

The  struggle  which  he  inaugurated  began  in  A.D. 
725,  when  he  ordered  the  removal  of  all  the  images 
in  the  capital.  Rioting  broke  out  at  once,  and  the 
officials  who  were  taking  down  the  great  figure  of 


LEOS   CRUSADE   AGAINST  IMAGES.  1 93 

Christ  Crucified,  over  the  palace-gate,  were  torn  to 
pieces  by  a  mob.  The  Emperor  replied  by  a  series  of 
executions,  and  carried  out  his  policy  all  over  the 
empire  by  the  aid  of  armed  force. 

The  populace,  headed  by  the  monks,  opposed  a 
bitter  resistance  to  the  Emperor's  doings,  more 
especially  in  the  European  provinces.  They  set  the 
wildest  rumours  afloat  concerning  his  intentions  ;  it 
was  currently  reported  that  the  Jews  had  bought 
his  consent  to  image-breaking,  and  that  the  Caliph 
Yezid  had  secretly  converted  him  to  Mahometanism. 
Though  Leo's  orthodoxy  in  matters  doctrinal  was 
unquestioned,  and  though  he  had  no  objection  to  the 
representation  of  the  cross,  as  distinguished  from  the 
crucifix,  he  was  accused  of  a  design  to  undermine  the 
foundations  of  Christianity.  Arianism  was  the  least 
offensive  fault  laid  to  his  account.  The  Emperor's 
enemies  did  not  confine  themselves  to  passive  resis- 
tance to  his  crusade  against  images.  Dangerous 
revolts  broke  out  in  Greece  and  Italy,  and  were  not 
put  down  without  much  fighting.  In  Italy,  indeed, 
the  imperial  authority  was  shaken  to  its  foundations, 
and  never  thoroughly  re-established.  The  Popes 
consistently  opposed  the  Iconoclastic  movement,  and 
by  their  denunciation  of  it  placed  themselves  at  the 
head  of  the  anti-imperial  party,  nor  did  they  shrink 
from  allying  themselves  with  the  Lombards,  who 
were  now,  as  always,  endeavouring  to  drive  the  East- 
Roman  garrisons  from  Ravenna  and  Naples.      CH^j  /j 

The  hatred  which  Leo  provoked  might  have  been      ^^-^ 
fatal  to  him  had  he  not  possessed  the  full  confidence    ^2^  / 
of  the  army.     But  his  great  victory  over  the  Saracens /y    / 

> 


194  ^^^   ICONOCLASTS. 

had  won  him  such  popularity  in  the  camp,  that  he 
was  able  to  "despise  the  wrath  of  the  populace,  and 
carry  out  his  schemes  to  their  end.  Beside  insti- 
tuting ecclesiastical  reforms  he  was  a  busy  worker  in  all 
the  various  departments  of  the  administration.  He 
published  a  new  code  of  laws,  the  first  since  Justinian, 
written  in  Greek  instead  of  Latin,  as  the  latter 
language  was  now  quite  extinct  in  the  Balkan 
Peninsula.  He  reorganized  the  finances  of  the 
empire,  which  had  fallen  into  hopeless  confusion  in 
the  anarchy  between  695  and  717.  The  army  had 
much  of  his  care,  but  it  was  more  especially  in  the 
civil  administration  of  the  empire  that  he  seems  to 
have  left  his  mark.  From  Leo's  day  the  gradual 
process  of  decay  which  had  been  observable  since  the 
time  of  Justinian  seems  to  come  to  an  end,  and  for 
three  hundred  years  the  reorganized  East-Roman 
state  developed  a  power  and  energy  which  appear 
most  surprising  after  the  disasters  of  the  unhappy 
seventh  century.  Having  once  lived  down  the 
Saracen  danger,  the  empire  reasserted  its  ancient 
mastery  in  the  East,  until  the  coming  of  tb-s  Turks  in 
the  eleventh  century.  We  should  be  glad  to  have 
the  details  of  Leo's  reforms,  but  most  unhappily  the 
monkish  chroniclers  who  described  his  reign  have 
slurred  over  all  his  good  deeds,  in  order  to  enlarge  to 
more  effect  on  the  iniquities  of  his  crusade  against 
image- worship.  The  effects  of  his  work  are  to  be  traced 
mainly  by  noting  the  improved  and  well-ordered 
state  of  the  empire  after  his  death,  and  comparing 
it  with  the  anarchy  that  had  preceded  his  accession. 
Leo    died    in   740,  leaving   the  throne  to  his  son, 


kepklseintation  of  the  madonna  enthkoned. 
{Frotn  a  Byzantine  Ivory.) 
{From  '' V  Art  Byzantinr    Par  Charles  Bayet.    Paris,  Quant  in,  1883.) 


196  THE   ICONOCLASTS. 

Constantine  V.,  whom  he  had  brought  up  to  follow 
in  his  own  footsteps.  The  new  emperor  was  a  good 
soldier  and  a  capable  man  of  business,  but  his  main 
interest  in  life  centred  in  the  struggle  against  image- 
worship.  Where  Leo  had  chastised  the  adherents  of 
superstition  with  whips  Constantine  chastised  them 
with  scorpions.  He  was  a  true  persecutor,  and 
executed  not  only  rioters  and  traitors,  as  his  father 
had  done,  but  all  prominent  opponents  of  his  policy 
who  provoked  his  wrath.  Hence  he  incurred  an 
amount  of  hatred  even  greater  than  that  which  en- 
compassed Leo  HL,  and  his  very  name  has  been 
handed  down  to  history  with  the  insulting  byword 
Copronymus  tacked  on  to  it. 

Though  strong  and  clever,  Constantine  was  far 
below  his  father  in  ability,  and  his  reign  was  marked 
by  one  or  two  disasters,  though  its  general  tenor  was 
successful  enough.  Two  defeats  in  Bulgaria  were 
comparatively  unimportant,  but  a  noteworthy  though 
not  a  dangerous  loss  was  suffered  when  Ravenna  and 
all  the  other  East-Roman  possessions  in  Central  Italy 
were  captured  by  the  Lombards  in  A.D.  750.  At  this 
time  Pope  Stephen,  when  attacked  by  the  same  enemy, 
sent  for  aid  to  Pipin  the  Frank,  instead  of  calling  on 
the  Emperor,  and  for  the  future  the  papacy  was  for  all 
practical  purposes  dependent  on  the  Franks  and  not 
on  the  empire.  The  loss  of  the  distant  exarchate  of 
Ravenna  seemed  a  small  thing,  however,  when  placed 
by  the  side  of  Constantfne's  successes  against  the 
Saracens,  Slavs,  and  Bulgarians,  all  of  whom  he  beat 
back  with  great  slaughter  on  the  numerous  occasions 
when  they  invaded  the  empire. 


CONSTANTINE  V.  DISSOLVES  THE  MONASTERIES.  1 97 

But  in  the  minds  both  of  Constantine  himself  and 
of  his  contemporaries,  his  deaHngs  with  things  reHgious 
were  the  main  feature  of  his  reign.  He  collected 
a  council  of  338  bishops  at  Constantinople  in  761, 
at  which  image-worship  was  declared  contrary  to  all 
Christian  doctrine,  and  after  obtaining  this  condem- 
nation, attacked  it  everywhere  as  a  heresy  and  not 
merely  a  superstition.  In  the  following  year,  finding 
the  monks  the  strongest  supporters  of  the  images,  he 
commenced  a  crusade  against  monasticism.  He  first 
forbade  the  reception  of  any  novices,  and  shortly 
afterwards  begun  to  close  monasteries  wholesale.  We 
are  told  that  he  compelled  many  of  their  inmates  to 
marry  by  force  of  threats  ;  others  were  exiled  to 
Cyprus  by  the  hundred  ;  not  a  few  were  flogged  and 
imprisoned,  and  a  certain  number  of  prominent  men 
were  put  to  death.  These  unwise  measures  had  the 
natural  effect :  the  monks  were  everywhere  regarded 
as  martyrs,  and  the  image-worship  which  they 
supported  grew  more  than  ever  popular  with  U^>*^y  VT 
masses.  ^'  ^  -   -      U^'C^^   (/. 

While   still   in  the  full  vigour   of  his   persect 
enthusiasm,    Constantine    Copronymus  died    in   775j^^^/y  ^7 
leaving  the  throne  to  his  son,  Leo  IV.,  an  Iconoclast,  u^ 

like  all  his  race,  but  one  who  imitated  the  milder 
measures  of  his  grandfather  rather  than  the  more 
violent  methods  of  his  father.  Leo  was  consumptive 
and  died  young,  after  a  reign  of  little  more  than  four 
years,  in  which  nothing  occurred  of  importance  save 
a  great  victory  over  the  Saracens  mj^j^^^^^MX?,  crown 
fell  to  his  son,  Constantine  VL,  a  child  of  ten,  while 
the  Empress"- Dowager  Irene  became  sole  regent,  and 


igS  THE   ICONOCLASTS. 

her  name  was  associated  with  that  of  her  son  in  all 
acts  of  state. 

The  Isaurian  dynasty  was  destined  to  end  in  a 
fearful  and  unnatural  tragedy.  The  Empress  Irene 
was  clever,  domineering,  and  popular.  The  irrespon- 
sible power  of  her  office  of  regent  filled  her  with 
overweening  ambition.  She  courted  the  favour  of 
the  populace  and  clergy  by  stopping  the  persecution 
of  the  image-worshippers,  and  filled  all  offices,  civil 
and  military,  with  creatures  of  her  own.  For  ten 
years  she  ruled  undisturbed,  and  grew  so  full  of  pride 
and  self-confidence  that  she  looked  forward  with 
dismay  to  the  prospect  of  her  son's  attaining  his 
majority  and  claiming  his  inheritance.  Even  when 
he  had  reached  the  age  of  manhood  she  kept  him 
still  excluded  from  state  affairs,  and  compelled  him 
to  marry,  against  his  will,  a  favourite  of  her  own. 
Constantine  was  neither  precocious  nor  unfilial,  but 
in  his  twenty-second  year  he  rebelled  against  his 
mother's  dictation,  and  took  his  place  at  the  helm  of 
the  state.  Irene  had  actually  striven  to  oppose  him 
by  armed  force,  but  he  pardoned  her,  and  after 
secluding  her  for  a  short  time,  restored  her  to  her 
form'er  dignity.  The  unnatural  mother  was  far  from 
acquiescing  in  her  son's  elevation,  and  still  dreamed 
of  reasserting  herself  She  took  advantage  of  the 
evil  repute  which  Constantine  won  by  a  disastrous 
war  with  Bulgaria,  and  an  unhappy  quarrel  with  the 
Church,  on  the  question  of  his  divorce  from  the  wife 
who  had  been  forced  upon  him.  More  especially, 
however,  she  relied  on  her  popularity  with  the 
multitude,    which    had    been    won    by    stopping   the 


IRENE   BLINDS   HER   SON.  I99 

persecution  of  the  image-worshippers  during  her 
regency,  for  Constantine  had  resumed  the  policy  of 
his  ancestors  and  developed  strong  Iconoclastic 
tendencies  when  he  came  to  his  own.  'H^ 

In  79^  Irene  imagined  that  things  were  ripe  for 
attacking  her  son,  and  conspirators,  acting  by  her 
orders,  seized  the  young  emperor,  blinded  him,  and 
immured  him  in  a  monastery  before  any  of  his 
adherents  were  able  to  come  to  his  aid.  Thus  ended 
the  rule  of  the  Isauriaji  dynasty.  Constantine  himself, 
however,  survived  many  years  as  a  blind  monk,  and 
lived  to  see  the  ends  of  no  less  than  five  of  his 
successors. 

The  wicked  Irene  sat  on  her  ill-gained  throne  for 
some  five  troublous  years,  much  vexed  by  rebellion 
abroad  and  palace  intrigues  at  home.  It  is  astonish- 
ing that  her  reign  lasted  so  long,  but  it  would  seem 
that  her  religious  orthodoxy  atoned  in  the  eyes  of 
many  of  her  subjects  for  the  monstrous  crime  of  her 
usurpation.  The  end  did  not  come  till  802,  when 
Nicephorus,  her  grand  treasurer,  having  gained  over 
some  of  the  eunuchs  and  other  courtiers  about  her 
person,  quietly  seized  her  and  immured  her  in  a 
monastery  in  the  island  of  Chalke.  No  blow  was 
struck  by  any  one  in  the  cause  of  the  wicked  empress, 
and  Nicephorus  quietly  ascended  the  throne. 

Though  containing  little  that  is  memorable  in 
itself,  the  reign  of  Irene  must  be  noted  as  the  severing- 
point  of  that  connection  between  Rome  and  Constan- 
tinople, which  had  endured  since  the  first  days  of 
empire.  In  the  year  8cx)  Pope  Leo  III.  crowned 
Karl,  King  of  the  Franks,  as  Roman  Emperor,  and 


200 


THE  ICONOCLASTS. 


transferred  to  him  the  nominal  allegiance  which  he 
had  hitherto  paid  to  Constantinople.  Since  the 
Italian  rebellion  in  the  time  of  Constantine  Coprony- 
mus,  that  allegiance  had  been  a  mere  shadow,  and  the 
papacy  had  been  in  reality  under  Frankish  influence. 
But  it  was  not  till  800  that  the  final  breach  took  place. 


DETAH^S  OF  iT.   SOPHIA. 


The  Iconoclastic  controversy  had  prepared  the  way 
for  it,  while  the  fact  that  a  woman  sat  on  the  imperial 
throne  served  as  a  good  excuse  for  the  Pope's  action. 
Leo  declared  that  a  female  reign  was  an  anomaly  and 
an  abomination,  and  took  upon  himself  the  onus  of 
ending  it,  so  far  as  Italy  was  concerned,  by  creating 
a  new  emperor  of  the  West.     There  was,  of  course, 


CORONATION   OF   CHARLES    THE   GREAT.        20I 

no  legality  in  the  act,  and  Karl  the  Great  was.  in  no 
real  sense  the  successor  of  Honorius  and  Rornulus 
Augustulus,  but  he  ruled  a  group  of  kingdoms  which 
embraced  the  larger  half  of  the  old  Western  Empire, 
and  formed  a  fair  equipoise  to  the  realm  now  ruled  by- 
Irene.  From  800,  then,  onward  we  have  once  more 
a  West-Roman  empire  in  existence  as  well  as  the 
East-Roman,  and  it  will  be  convenient  for  many 
purposes  to  use  the  adjective  Byzantine  instead  of 
the  adjective  Roman,  when  we  are  dealing  with  the 
remaining  history  of  the  realm  that  centred  at 
Constantinople. 


XVL 


THE  END  OF   THE   ICONOCLASTS. 


(A.D.  802-886.) 

The  Iconoclastic  controversy  was  far  from  being 
extinguished  with  the  fall  of  the  house  of  Leo  the 
Isaurian.  It  was  destined  to  continue  in  a  milder 
form  for  more  than  half  a  century  after  the  dethrone- 
ment of  Constantine  VI.  The  lines  on  which  it  was 
fought  out  were  still  the  same — the  official  hierarchy 
and  the  Asiatic  provinces  favoured  Iconoclasm,  the 
clergy  and  the  European  provinces  were  "Iconodules."' 
Hence  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  through  the  greater 
part  of  the  ninth  century,  while  emperors  of  Eastern 
birth  sat  on  the  throne,  the  views  of  Leo  the  Isaurian 
were  still  in  vogue,  and  that  the  eventual  triumph  of 
the  image-worshippers  only  came  about  when  a  royal 
house  sprung  from  one  of  the  European  themes — the 
family  of  Basil  the  Macedonian — gained  possession  of 
the  crown. 

The  treasjjger,    Nicephorus,  who  overthrew  Irene, 


ine  treasu|Kr, 

"  Slaves  M^^5^^ ' 
the  image- wJ^Pppers. 


a  term  of  contempt  not  unfairly  applied  to 


REIGN  OF  NICEPHORUS  I,  203 • 

and  so  easily  obtained  possession  of  the  empire,  was 
of  Oriental  extraction.  His  ancestor  had  been  a 
Christian  Arab  prince,  expelled  from  his  country  at 
the  time  of  the  rise  of  Mahomet,  and  his  family  had 
always  dwelt  in  Asia  Minor.  Hence  we  are  not 
surprised  to  find  that  Nicephorus  was  an  Iconoclast, 
and  refused  to  follow  in  the  steps  of  Irene  in  the 
direction  of  restoring  image-worship.  ■-  He  did  not 
persecute  the  "  Iconodules,'*  as  the  Isaurians  had  done, 
but  he  gave  them  no  personal  encouragement.  This 
being  so,  it  is  natural  that  we  should  find  his  character 
described  in  the  blackest  terms  by  the  monkish 
chroniclers  of  the  succeeding  century.  He  was,  we 
are  told,  a  hypocrite,  an  oppresser,  and  a  miser ;  but 
we  cannot  find  any  very  distinct  traces  of  the  operation 
of  such  vices  in  his  conduct  during  the  nine  years  of 
his  reign.  He  was  not,  however,  a  very  fortunate 
ruler  ;  though  he  put  down  with  ease  several  insurrec- 
tions of  discontented  generals,  he  was  unlucky  with 
his  foreign  wars.  The  Caliph  Haroun-al-Raschid  did 
much  harm  to  the  Asiatic  provinces,  ravaging  the 
whole  country  as  far  as  Ancyra,  nor  could  Nicephorus 
get  rid  of  him  without  signing  a  rather  ignominious 
peace,  and  paying  a  large  war-indemnity.  A  yet 
greater  disaster  concluded  another  war.  Nicephorus 
invaded  Bulgaria  in  8ii,  to  punish  King  Crumn  for 
ravaging  Thrace.  The  Byzantine  army  won  a  battle 
and  sacked  the  palace  and  capital  of  the  Bulgarian 
king  ;  but  a  few  days  later  Nicephorus  allowed  himself 
to  be  surprised  by  a  night  attack  on  his  camp.  In 
the  panic  and  confusion  the  emperor  fell,  and  his  son 
and  heir,  Stauracius,  was  desperately  wounded.     The 


204  THE   END   OF    THE   ICONOCLASTS. 

routed  army  did  not  stay  its  flight  till  Adrianople,  and 
left  the  body  of  the  Emperor  in  the  hands  of  the 
Bulgarians,  who  cut  off  his  head,  and  made  the  skull 
into  a  drinking-cup,  just  as  the  Lombards  had  dealt 
with  the  skull  of  King  Cunimund  three  hundred  years 
before.  I 

Stauracius,  the  only  son  of  Nicephorus,  was  pro- 
claimed emperor,  but  it  soon  became  evident  that  his 
wound  was  mortal,  and  Michael  Rhangabe,  his  brother- 
in-law,  who  had  married  the  eldest  daughter  jf  Nice- 
phorus, took  his  place  on  the  throne  before  the  breath 
vvas  out  of  the  dying  emperor's  body. 

Michael  I.  was  a  weak,  good-natured  man,  who 
owed  his  elevation  to  the  mere  chance  of  his  marriage. 
He  was  a  devoted  servant  and  admirer  of  monks, 
and  began  to  undo  the  work  of  his  father-in-law,  and 
remove  all  Iconoclasts  from  office.  This  provoked 
the  wrath  of  that  powerful  party,  and  led  to  con- 
spiracies against  Michael,  but  he  might  have  held  his 
own  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  disgracefully  incompetent 
way  in  which  he  conducted  the  Bulgarian  war.  He 
allowed  an  enemy  whom  the  East-Romans  had  hitherto 
despised,  not  only  to  ravage  the  open  country  in 
Thrace,  but  to  storm  the  fortresses  "of  Mesembria  and 
Anchialus,  and  to  push  their  invasions  up  to  the  gates 
of  Constantinople.  The  discontent  of  the  army  found 
vent  in  a  mutiny,  and  Leo  the  Armenian,  an  officer 
of  merit  and  capacity,  was  proclaimed  emperor  in  the 
camp.  Michael  L  made  no  resistance,  and  retired  into 
a  monastery  after  only  two  years  of  reign.  [8i  1-13.] 
^  Leo  the  Arjiienian  proved  himself  worthy  of  the 
''i^^ — --      -  »Seep.  116. 


REIGN   OF  LEO    V.  205 

confidence  of  the  army.  When  the  Bulgarians 
appeared  in  front  of  the  walls  of  Constantinople  they 
were  repulsed,  but  Leo  tarnished  the  glory  of  his 
success  by  a  treacherous  attempt  to  assassinate  King 
Crumn  at  a  conference — a  crime  as  unnecessary  as  it 
was  unsuccessful,  for  the  Emperor  might,  as  the  event 
proved,  have  trusted  to  the  sword  instead  of  the 
dagger.  In  the  next  spring  he  took  the  offensive 
himself,  marched  out  to  Mesembria,  and  inflicted  on 
the  enemy  such  a  sanguinary  defeat  that  hardly  a 
man  escaped  his  sword,  and  Bulgaria  was  so  weakened 
that  it  gave  no  further  trouble  for  more  than  fifty  years. 
Almost  the  moment  that  he  was  freed  from  the 
Bulgarian  war,  Leo  became  involved  in  the  fatal 
Iconoclastic  controversy.  Being  a  native  of  an 
Oriental  theme,  he  was  naturally  imbued  with  the 
views  of  his  great  namesake,  the  Isaurian,  and  inclined 
to  reverse  the  policy  of  the  monk-loving  Michael  I. 
But  being  moderate  and  wary  he  tried  to  introduce, 
without  the  use  of  force,  a  middle  policy  between 
image-breaking  and  image-worship — a  fruitless  at- 
tempt, which  only  brought  him  the  nickname  of  "  the 
Chameleon."  Leo's  idea  was  the  quaint  device  of 
permitting  the  use  of  images,  but  of  hanging  them  so 
high  from  the  ground  that  the  public  should  not  be 
able  to  touch  or  kiss  them  !  This  pleased  nobody  ; 
on  the  one  side,  the  patriarch  and  his  monks  inveighed 
against  the  moving  of  the  images,  while,  on  the  other, 
tumultuous  companies  of  Asiatic  soldiery  broke  into 
churches  and  mutilated  all  the  pictures  and  figures 
they  could  find.  The  seven  years  of  Leo's  reign  were 
full   of    ecclesiastical    bickerings,   but   it   should    be 


206  THE   END   OF   THE   ICONOCLASTS, 


remembered  to  his  credit  that  no  single  person 
suffered  death  for  his  conscience'  sake  in  the  whole 
period.  The  most  violent  of  the  opponents  of  the 
Emperor  were  merely  interned  in  remotlBjpnasteries, 
when  they  ventured  to  set  their  will  a^sunst  his. 
Long  ere  the  end  of  his  reign,  Leo  had  been  compelled 
to  leave  his  half  measures  and  prohibit  all  use  of  images. 
Like  Constantine  Copronymus,  he  called  a  council  to 
endorse  his  action,  and  a  majority  of  the  Eastern 
bishops  resolved  that  Iconolatry  was  a  dangerous 
heresy,  and  anathematized  the  patriarch  Nicephorus 
and  all  other  defenders  of  the  images. 

Leo's  reign  was  prosperous  in  all  save  the  matter 
of  his  religious  troubles.  But  he  was  not  destined  to 
die  in  peace  in  his  bed.  Michael  the  Amorian,  the 
best  general  in  the  empire,  was  detected  in  a  conspi- 
racy against  his  master.  Leo  cast  him  into  prison, 
but  delayed  his  punishment,  and  left  his  accomplices 
at  large.  Michael  had  many  friends  in  the  palace  who 
determined  to  strike  a  blow  ere  the  Emperor  should 
have  discovered  their  guilt.  They  resolved  to  slay 
Leo  in  his  private  chapel,  as  he  attended  matins  on 
Christmas  Day,  for  he  was  accustomed  to  come 
unarmed  and  unguarded  to  the  early  communion. 
Accordingly,  the  conspirators  attended  the  service, 
and  attacked  the  Emperor  in  the  midst  of  the 
Eucharistic  hymn.  Leo  snatched  the  heavy  metal 
cross  off  the  altar  and  struck  down  some  of  his 
assailants,  but  numbers  were  too  many  for  him,  and 
h^jwas  cut  down  and  slain  at  the  very  foot  of  the 
table.     [Christmas  Day,  820.] 

Michael    the    Amorian    was    dragged    out    of    his 


MICHAEL    THE   A  MORI  AN.  20y 

dungeon,  saluted  as  emperor,  and  crowned,  even 
before  the  fetters  were  off  his  feet  It  was  not  till  the 
ceremony  had  been  performed  that  time  was  found  to 
send  for  a  soiith  to  strike  away  the  rings. 

Michael  was  by  birth  a  mere  peasant,  but  had 
raised  himself  to  high  rank  in  the  army  by  his 
courage  and  ability.  He  is  sometimes  styled  "  the 
Amorian,"  from  his  birth-place,  Amorium  in  Phrygia, 
but  more  often  mentioned  by  his  nickname  of  "the 
Stammerer."  He  had  been  the  friend  and  adviser  of 
Leo  the  Armenian  at  the  time  of  the  latter's  elevation 
to  the  throne,  and  his  conspiracy  must  be  reckoned  a 
gross  piece  of  ingratitude,  even  though  we  acknow- 
ledge that  he  was  not  personally  responsible  for  his 
master's  murder. 

Though  rough  and  uncultured,  Michael  was  a  man 
of  very  considerable  ability.  He  strengthened  his 
title  to  the  crown  by  a  marriage  with  the  last  scion  of 
the  Isaurian  house,  the  princess  Euphrosyne,  daughter 
of  the  blind  Constantine  VI.  The  religious  difficulties 
of  the  day  he  endeavoured  to  treat  in  an  absolutely 
impartial  way,  so  as  to  offend  neither  Iconoclasts  nor 
Iconodules.  He  recalled  from  exile  the  image-wor- 
shipping monks  whom  Leo  the  Armenian  had  sent  to 
distant  monasteries,  and  proclaimed  that  for  the  future 
every  subject  of  the  empire  should  enjoy  complete 
liberty  of  conscience  on  the  disputed  question.  This 
was  far  from  satisfying  the  image- worshippers,  who 
wished  Michael  to  restore  their  idols  to  their  ancient 
places  :  but  the  Amorian  would  not  consent  to  this, 
and  obtained  but  a  very  qualified  measure  of  approval 
from  the  monastic  party. 


2o8  THE   END   OF   THE   ICONOCLASTS. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  the  reign  of  a 
military  usurper,  with  no  title  to  the  throne  whatever, 
would  bt  untroubled  by  revolts.  Michael  had  his 
share  of  such  afflictions,  and  though  he  finally  slew 
Thomas  and  Euphemius,  the  two  pretenders  who  laid 
claim  to  his  crown,  yet  by  their  means  he  lost  two  not 
inconsiderable  provinces  of  his  empire.  While  the 
rebellion  of  Thomas  was  in  progress,  an  army  of 
Saracens  from  Alexandria  threw  themselves  on  the 
island  of  Crete,  and  conquered  it  from  end  to  end. 
When  Michael's  hands  were  free  he  sent  two  great 
armaments  to  expel  the  intruders,  but  both  failed,  and 
Crete  was  destined  to  remain  for  a  whole  century  in 
Moslem  hands.  Its  hundred  harbours  became  the 
haunts  of  innumerable  Corsairs,  who  grew  to  be  the 
bane  of  commerce  in  the  Levant,  and  were  a  serious 
danger  to  the  empire  whenever  its  fleet  fell  into  bad 
hands  and  failed  to  keep  the  police  of  the  seas. 

A  similar  rising  in  Sicily  under  a  rebel  named 
Euphemius  led  to  the  invasion  of  that  island  by  an 
army  of  Moors  from  Africa,  who  landed  in  827,  and 
maintained  a  foothold  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  expel 
them.  At  first  their  gains  were  not  rapid,  but  in  the 
time  of  Michael's  successors  they  gradually  won  for 
themselves  the  whole  of  the  island. 

After  nine  years  of  reign  the  Amorian  died  a 
natural  death,  still  wearing  the  crown  he  had  won. 
It  was  just  fifty  years  since  any  ruler  of  the  empire 
had  met  such  a  peaceful  end.  He  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Theophilus,  a  vehement  Iconoclast,  whose 
persecuting  tendencies  had  been  with  difficulty  re- 
strained in  his  father's  life-time.     His  accession  was 


PERSECUTION  BY   THEOPHILUS. 


209 


the  signal  for  a  new  campaign  against  image-worship  ; 
he  induced  the  patriarch  John  the  Grammarian,  a 
strong  Iconoclast  like  him^filf,  to  excommunicate  as 


MlMWPiBPlBP">^>s|^Hl]1B|B|BWWB 


BYZANTixNE  METAL  WORK  (Our  Lord  and  the  Twelve  Apostles). 
{Frorn''L'ArtByzantiny    Par  Charles  Bayet.    Paris,  Quantin.    1883.) 

idolaters  all  who  differed  from  him,  and  began  to  flog, 
banish,  and  imprison  their  leading  men.  His  persecu- 
tion would  have  been  almost  as  vehement  as  that  of 


THE    END    OF   THE   ICONOCLASTS. 

/^Constantine  Copronymus,  but  for  the  fact  that  he  did 
not  ever  inflict  the  punishment  of  death  ;  branding 
and  mutilation  however  he  did  not  disdain. 

The  Iconodules  saw  the  vengeance  of  heaven  for 
the  misdeeds  of  Theophilus  in  the  disasters  which  he 
suffered  in  war  from  the  Saracens.  He  fell  out  with 
the  Caliph  Motassem,  and  in  the  first  campaign  took 
and  burnt  the  town  of  Zapetra,  for  which  the  Com- 
mander of  the  Faithful  had  great  regard.^  This  roused 
Motassem  to  furious  wrath  ;  he  swore  that  he  would 
destroy  in  revenge  the  town  which  Theophilus  held 
most  dear  ;  he  collected  the  largest  Saracen  army  that 
had  been  seen  since  Moslemah  beleaguered  Constan- 
tinople in  717,  and  marched  out  of  Tarsus  with  130,000 
men,  each  of  whom  (if  legend  speaks  true)  had  the 
word  Amorium  painted  on  his  shield.  For  it  was 
Amorium,  the  birth-place  of  the  Emperor,  and  the 
home  of  his  ancestors  that  Motassem  had  sworn 
to  sack.  While  one  division  of  the  Caliph's  army 
defeated  Theophilus,  who  had  taken  the  field  in 
person,  another  headed  by  Motassem  himself  marched 
straight  on  Amorium,  and  took  it  after  a  brave  defence 
of  fifty-five  days.  Thirty  thousand  of  its  inhabitants 
were  massacred,  and  the  town  was  burnt,  but  the 
Caliph  then  turned  home  satisfied  with  his  revenge, 
and  the  empire  suffered  nothing  more  from  this  most 
dangerous  invasion.  The  Saracen  war  dragged  on  in 
an  indecisive  way,  but  no  further  disaster  was  en- 
countered. 

There  are  other  things  to  be  recorded  of  Theophilus 
beside  his  persecution  of  image-worshippers  and  his 

'  It  is  said  to  have  been  either  his  birth-place  or  that  of  his  mother. 


THE   CHOICE    OF   THEOPHILUS.  211 

war  with  the  Caliph.  He  was  long  remembered  for 
his  taste  for  gorgeous  display  ;  of  all  the  East-Roman 
emperors  he  seems  to  have  delighted  the  most  in  gold 
and  silver  work,  gems  and  embroidery.  His  golden 
plane-tree  was  the  talk  of  the  East,  and  the  golden 
lions  at  the  foot  of  his  throne,  which  rose  and  roared 
by  the  means  of  ingenious  machinery  within,  were 
remembered  for  generations. 

Nor  should  the  curious  tale  of  his  second  marriage 
be  left  untold.  When  left  a  widower  he  bade  the 
Empress-dowager  Euphrosyne  assemble  at  her  levee 
all  the  most  beautiful  of  the  daughters  of  the  East- 
Roman  aristocracy,  and  came  among  them  to  choose 
a  wife,  carrying  like  Paris  a  golden  apple  in  his  hand. 
His  glance  was  first  fixed  on  the  fair  Eikasia,  but 
approaching  her  he  found  no  better  topic  to  commence 
a  conversation  than  the  awkward  statement  that 
"  most  of  the  evil  had  come  into  the  world  by  means 
of  women."  The  lady  retorted  that  surely  most  of 
the  good  had  also  come  into  the  world  by  their  means, 
a  reply  which  apparently  discomposed  Theophilus, 
for  he  walked  on  and  without  a  further  word  gave  the 
golden  apple  to  Theodora,  a  rival  beauty.  The  choice 
was  hasty  and  unhappy,  for  Theodora  was  a  devoted 
Iconodule,  and  used  all  her  influence  against  her 
husband's  religious  opinions. 

Theophilus  died  in  842,  while  still  a  young  man, 
leaving  the  throne  to  his  only  son  Michael,  a  child  of 
three  years,  and  the  regency  to  the  young  empress. 
The  moment  that  her  husband's  grave  was  closed 
Theodora  set  to  work  to  undo  his  policy.  Amid  the 
applause  of  the  monks  and  the  populace  of  Constan- 


e\ 


212  THE   END   OF   THE   ICONOCLASTS, 

tinople  she  proclaimed  the  end  of  the  persecution, 
sent  for  the  banished  image-worshippers  from  their 
places  of  exile,  and  deposed  John  the  Grammarian, 
the  Iconoclastic  patriarch  who  had  served  Theophilus. 
Within  thirty  days  of  the  commencement  of  the  new 
reign  the  images  had  appeared  once  more  on  the 
walls  of  all  the  churches  of  Constantinople.  The 
Iconoclasts  seem  to  have  been  taken  by  surprise,  and 
made  no  resistance  to  the  revolution  :  however  the 
empress  did  not  take  any  measures  to  persecute  them  ; 
it  was  only  power  and  not  security  for  life  and  limb 
that  they  lost.  The  sole  permanent  result  of  the 
long  struggle  which  they  had  kept  up  was  a  curious 
compromise  in  the  Eastern  Church  on  the  subject  of 
representation  of  the  human  figure.  Statues  were 
never  again  erected  in  places  of  worship,  but  only 
paintings  and  mosaics.  It  was  apparently  believed 
that  the  actual  image  savoured  too  much  of  the 
heathen  idol,  but  that  no  offence  could  possibly  be 
given  by  the  picture,  which  served  as  a  pious  remem- 
brance of  the  holy  personage  it  represented,  but  could 
be  nothing  more.  Nevertheless  the  veneration  of  the 
Byzantines  for  their  holy  "  Eikons  "  became  almost  as 
grotesque  as  idol-worship,  and  led  to  many  quaint  and 
curious  forms  of  superstition. 

Theodora,  engrossed  in  things  religious,  handed 
ver  the  education  of  her  young  son  to  her  brother 
Bardas,  who  became  her  co-regent  and  was  afterwards 
made  Caesar.  He  brought  up  the  young  Michael 
in  the  most  reckless  and  unconscientious  manner, 
teaching  him  his  own  vices  of  drunkenness  and 
debauchery.     Michael  was  an  apt  pupil,  and  ere  he 


MICHAEL    THE   DRUNKARD.  213 

reached  the  age  of  twenty-one  had  become  a  con- 
firmed dipsomaniac.  History  knows  him  by  the 
dishonourable  nickname  of  "  Michael  the  Drunkard." 
Some  years  after  his  majority  he  grew  discontented 
with  his  uncle,  and  slew  him,  in  order  that  he  might 
reign  alone.  His  profligacy  and  intemperance  be- 
came still  more  unbearable  after  Bardas  was  dead, 
and  had  it  not  been  for  the  splendid  organization  of 
the  Byzantine  civil  service  the  administration  of  the 
empire  must  have  gone  to  pieces.  Presently  Michael 
grew  tired  of  spending  on  state  affairs  any  time  that 
he  could  spare  from  his  orgies,  and  appointed  as 
Caesar  and  colleague  his  boon  companion  Basil  the 
Macedonian.  Basil  had  reached  the  position  of 
grand  chamberlain  purely  by  the  Emperor's  favour  ; 
he  rose  from  the  lowest  ranks  and  is  said  to  have 
first  entered  Michael's  service  in  the  humble  position 
of  a  groom.  His  practical  ability,  combined  with  a 
head  hard  enough  to  withstand  the  effect  of  even  the 
longest  debauch,  won  Michael's  admiration,  and  so  he 
came  to  be  first  chamberlain  and  then  Caesar.  Under 
the  mask  of  a  roisterer  Basil  concealed  the  most 
devouring  ambition,  and  when  he  knew  that  his 
drunken  benefactor  had  won  the  contempt  of  all  the 
East-Roman  world,  had  the  impudence  and  ingratitude 
to  plan  his  murder.  Michael  was  stabbed  while 
sleeping  off  the  effects  of  one  of  his  orgies,  and  his 
low-born  colleague  seized  the  palace  and  proclaimed 
himself  emperor 

It  might  have  been  expected  that  the  East- Roman 
world  would  have  refused  to  receive  as  its  lord  a  man 
who  owed  his  elevation  to  the  freak  of  a  drunkard. 


214  THE   END   OF   THE   ICONOCLASTS, 

and  had  then  become  the  assassin  of  his  benefactor. 
But  strangely  enough  Basil  was  destined  to  found  the 
longest  dynasty  that  ever  sat  upon  the  Constantino- 
politan  throne.  He  turned  out  a  far  better  ruler  than 
might  have  been  expected  from  his  disgraceful  ante- 
cedents, being  one  of  those  fortunate  men  who  are 
able  to  utilize  the  work  of  others  when  their  own 
powers  and  knowledge  f?i^^  short. 

Basil  is  mainly  remembered  for  his  codification  of 
the  laws  of  the  empire,  which  superseded  the  Ecloga 
of  Leo  the  Isaurian,  even  as  Leo's  compilation  had 
superseded  the  more  solid  and  thorough  work  of 
Justinian.  The  Basilika  of  Basil  with  the  additions 
made  by  his  son  Leo  VL  formed  the  code  of  the 
Byzantine  Empire  down  to  its  last  days,  no  further 
rearrangement  being  ever  made. 

Basil,  being  of  European  birth  and  not  an  Asiatic 
like  the  preceding  emperors,  was  naturally  an  orthodox 
image-worshipper.  He  showed  his  bigotry  by  a  fierce 
persecution  of  the  Paulicians,  an  Asiatic  sect  of 
heretics  accused  of  Manicheanism,whom  the  Iconoclast 
emperors  had  been  wont  to  tolerate.  Basil's  oppres- 
sion drove  many,  of  them  over  the  Saracen  frontier, 
where  they  took  refuge  w  ith  the  Moslems  and  main- 
tained themselves  by  plundering  the  borders  of  the 
empire. 

Among  the  other  transactions  of  his  nineteen  years 
of  reign  [867-886],  the  only  one  deserving  notice  is 
the  final  loss  of  Sicily.  The  Saracens  of  Africa,  who 
had  held  a  footing  in  the  island  ever  since  the  time  of 
Michael  H.,  now  finished  their  work  by  storming 
Syracuse  in  Z'^Z, 


y 


XVIL 

THE  LITERARY   EMPERORS  AND   THEIR   TIME. 
(A.D.  ^^6-<)6z.) 

The  eighty  years  which  followed  the  death  of 
Basil  the  Macedonian  were  the  most  uneventful  and 
monotonous  in  the  whole  history  of  the  empire. 
They  are  entirely  taken  up  by  the  two  long  reigns 
of  Leo  the  Wise  and  Constantine  Porphyrogenitus,^ 
the  son  and  grandson  of  the  founder  of  the  dynasty. 
Basil  had  been  a  mere  adventurer,  an  ignorant  and 
uneducated  but  capable  upstart.  His  successors — 
strange  issue  from  such  a  stock — were  a  pair  of  mild, 
easy-going,  and  inoffensive  men  of  literature.  They 
wrote  no  annals  with  their  sword,  though  the  times 
were  not  unpropitious  for  military  enterprise,  but 
devoted  themselves  to  the  pen,  and  have  left  behind 
them  some  of  the  most  useful  and  interesting  works 
in  Byzantine  literature. 

If  the  times  had  been  harder  it  is  doubtful  whether 

*  This  name  was  given  him  because  he  was  born  in  the  Purple 
Chamber,  the  room  in  the  palace  set  aside  for  the  Empress.  Emperors 
born  in  their  father's  reign  had  been  scarce  of  late,  Constantine  VI.  and 
Michael  the  Drunkard  were  the  only  two  in  the  lio  years  before 
Constantine  VII. 


2l6    THE   LITERARY   EMPERORS   AND    THEIR    TIME. 

Leo  VI.  and  Constantine  VII.  would  have  been  strong 
enough  to  protect  their  throne.  But  the  period  880- 
960  was  less-4fouljled  by  fareign_JV¥ars  than  any  other 
corresponding  period  in  the  hi.^tory  of  the  East- 
Roman  state.  The  empire  of  the  Caliphs  was  break- 
ing up  in  the  East — the  empire  of  Charles  the  Great 
had  already  broken  up  in  the  West — the  Bulgarians 
and  other  neighbours  of  the  realm  on  the  north  were 
being  converted  to  Christianity,  and  settling  down  into 
quiet.  The  only  troubles  to  which  the  East-Roman 
realm  was  exposed  were  piratical  raids  of  the  Russians 
on  the  north  and  the  Saracens  of  Africa  on  the  south. 
These  were  vexatious,  but  not  dangerous.  An  active 
and  warlike  emperor  would  probably  have  found  the 
time  propitious  for  conquest  from  his  neighbours,  but 
Leo  and  Constantine  were  quiet,  unenterprising  men, 
who  dwelt  contentedly  in  the  palace,  and  seldom  or 
never  took  the  field. 

Leo's  reign  of  twenty-six  years  was  only  diversified 
by  an  unfortunate  invasion  of  Bulgaria,  which  failed 
through  the  mismanagement  of  the  generals,  and  for  a 
great  raid  of  Saracen  pirates  on  Thessalonica  in  904. 
The  capture  of  the  second  city  of  the  empire  by  a  fleet 
of  African  adventurers  was  an  incident  disgraceful  to 
the  administration  of  Leo,  and  caused  much  outcry 
and  sensation.  But  it  is  fair  to  say  that  it  was  taken 
almost  by  surprise,  and  stormed  from  the  side  of  the 
sea  where  no  attack  had  been  expected.  The  armies 
and  fleet  of  the  empire  would  have  availed  to  rescue 
the  town  if  only  its  fall  had  been  delayed  a  few  weeks. 
When  they  had  taken  it  the  Saracens  fled  with  their 
booty,  and  made  no  attempt  to  hold  its  walls. 


REIGN   OF   CONSTANTINE    VII.  217 

Constantine  Porphyrogenitus,  the  offspring  of  the 
fourth  wife  of  Leo  the  Wise,  and  the  child  of  his  old 
age,  was  only  seven  when  his  heritage  fell  to  him. 
For  many  years  he  was  under  the  tutelage  of  guardians ; 
first  his  father's  brother  Alexander  ruled  as  his 
colleague,  and  became  emperor-regent.  -  Some  years 
after  Alexander  had  died  an  ambitious  admiral  named 
Romanus  Lecapenus  usurped  the  same  position, 
declared  himself  emperor,  and  administered  the 
realm.  The  life  of  Romanus  was  protracted  into 
extreme  old  age,  long  after  Constantine  had  reached 
his  majority  ;  but  the  ambitious  veteran  held  tight  to 
the  sceptre,  and  kept  the  rightful  heir  in  the  back- 
ground. Constantine  consoled  himself  by  writing 
books  and  painting  pictures  ;  it  was  not  till  he  was 
nearly  i^y.  that  he  came  to  his  own.  Even  then  his 
success  was  not  owing  to  his  own  energy  ;  the  sons 
of  the  aged  Romanus  had  resolved  to  succeed  their 
parent  on  the  throne,  in  despite  of  the  rights  of 
Constantine.  But  when  they  declared  themselves 
emperors  and  made  their  old  father  abdicate,  an 
outburst  of  popular  wrath  was  provoked.  The  mob 
and  the  guards  joined  to  sweep  away  the  presumptuous 
Stephen  Lecapenus  and  his  brother.  They  were 
immured  in  monasteries, and  Constantine  emerged  from 
his  seclusion  to  administer  the  empire  for  twenty 
years.  He  was  somewhat  weak  and  ineffective,  but 
neither  obstinate  nor  tyrannical ;  many  abler  men 
made  worse  rulers. 

The  chief  achievements  of  both  Leo  and  Constan- 
tine were  their  hooks.  Those  of  Leo  consist  of  a 
manual  on  the  Art  of  War,  some  theological  treatises, 


2l8    THE   LITERARY   EMPERORS   AND    THEIR    TIME. 

and  a  book  of  prophecies,  a  collection  of  political 
enigmas,  which  were  long  the  puzzle  and  admiration 
of  the  East.i  The  first-named  work  is  most  valuable 
and  interesting,  bringing  down  the  history  of  military- 
organization,  tactics,  and  strategy  to  Leo's  own  time, 
and  giving  us  a  perfect  picture  of  the  Byzantine  army 
and  its  tactics,  as  well  as  incidental  sketches  of  all 
the  enemies  with  which  it  had  to  contend.  The  back- 
bone of  the  force  was  still  the'*  themes  "  or  "  turmae  '* 
of  heavy  cavalry,  of  which  every  province  had  one. 
The  number  of  the  provinces  had  been  much  increased 
since  the  days  of  the  emperors  of  the  house  of  Heraclius, 
and  this  implied  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  troops. 
They  were  raised  from  subjects  of  the  empire  and 
officered  by  the  Byzantine  nobility,  for  as  Leo 
observed,  "  There  was  no  difficulty  in  obtaining 
officers  of  good  birth  and  private  means,  whose  origin 
made  them  respected  by  the  soldiery,  while  their 
money  enabled  them  to  win  the  good  graces  of  their 
men  by  many  gifts  of  small  creature  comforts,  over 
and  above  their  pay."  The  names  of  some  of  the 
great  noble  houses  are  found  for  generation  after 
generation  in  the  imperial  muster  rolls,  such  as  those 
of  Ducas,  Phocas,  Comnenus,  Bryennius,  Kerkuas, 
Diogenes,  and  many  more.  The  pages  of  Leo's  work 
breathe  an  entire  confidence  in  the  power  of  the  army 
to  deal  with  any  foe  ;  against  Saracen,  Turk,  Hun- 
garian, and  Slav,  instant  and  decisive  action  is  advised ; 
when  caught,  they  should  be  fought  and  beaten.     It 

*  There  is  a  splendid  copy  of  this  book  in  the  Bodleian  T>ibrary,  made 
as  late  as  1560,  where  all  the  prophecies  are  applied  to  the  Turks  and 
Venetians. 


LEO'S   TACTIC  A.  219 

is  only  when  dealing  v/ith  the  men  of  the  West,  the 
Franks  and  Lombards,  that  Leo  recommends  caution 
and  deprecates  any  rash  engagement  in  a  general 
action,  preferring  to  wear  the  enemy  down  by  cutting 
off  his  supplies  and  harassing  his  marches.  We 
gather  a  very  favourable  impression  of  the  Byzantine 
army  from  Leo's  book  ;  it  was  organized,  armed,  and 
supplied  in  a  manner  that  has  no  parallel  till  modern 
times.  Each  regiment  possessed  its  special  uniform, 
and  was  equipped  with  regularity.  There  was  none 
of  that  variety  in  arms  and  organizations  which  was 
the  bane  of  mediaeval  armies.  The  regiments  had 
each  attached  to  them  an  elaborate  military  train,  a 
small  body  of  engineers,  and  a  provision  of  surgeons 
and  ambulances.  To  encourage  the  saving  of  wounded 
men,  Leo  tells  us  that  the  bearer  company  was  given 
a  gold  piece  for  every  disabled  soldier  whom  it  brought 
off  the  field  after  a  lost  battle.  It  would  be  hard  to 
find  any  similar  care  shown  for  the  wounded  till  the 
days  of  our  own  century. 

The  Byzantine  fleet,  as  Leo  describes  it,  had  for  its 
chief  object  the  maintenance  of  the  police  of  the  seas 
in  the  Aegean,  Levant,  and  South  Italian  waters.  Its 
enemies  were  the  Saracens  of  the  Syrian  and  African 
coasts,  and  more  especially  the  troublesome  Corsairs 
of  Crete,  who  were  often  beaten  but  never  subdued 
till  Nicephorus  Phocas  exterminated  them  in  961. 
The  empire  maintained  three  fleets,  small  ones  in  the 
Black  Sea  and  in  Western  waters  ;  but  the  largest  in 
the  Aegean.  This  was  composed  of  sixty  "  dromonds," 
or  war-vessels  of  the  largest  rating  ;  their  great  depot 
was  in  the  arsenal  at  Constantinople,  but  they  could 


220    THE    LITERARY    EMPERORS   AND    THEIR    TIME. 

also  be  refitted  at  Samos,  Thessalonica,  and  several 
other  ports.  Owing  to  their  superior  size,  and  still 
more  to  their  employment  of  the  celebrated  Greek 
fire,  the  imperial  fleets  generally  had  the  better  of  the 
Saracen,  but  though  they  checked  his  larger  squadrons, 
they  could  never  suppress  the  petty  piracy  by  isolated 
sea-robbers,  which  rendered  all  mediaeval  commerce 
so  dangerous. 

The  works  of  Constantine  Porphyrogenitus  are 
even  more  interesting  than  those  of  his  father.  His 
treatise  called  "  On  the  Themes "  is  invaluable  to 
the  historian,  as  it  gives  a  complete  list  of  the 
Themes,  their  boundaries,  inhabitants,  characteristics, 
and  resources,  with  some  other  incidental  notices  of 
value.  Still  more  important  is  the  book,  "  On  the 
Administration  of  the  Empire,"  which  contains 
directions  for  the  foreign  policy  of  the  realm,  and 
sketches  the  condition  and  resources  cf  the  various 
nations  with  whom  the  Constantinopolitan  government 
had  dealings.  Constantine  also  wrote  a  biography  of 
his  grandfather,  Basil  the  Macedonian,  couched  in 
terms  of  respect  which  that  hardy  usurper  was  far 
from  deserving.  But  his  longest  and  most  ambitious 
work  was  on  Court  Ceremonies,  a  manual  of  etiquette 
and  precedence,  describing  the  official  hierarchy  of 
the  empire,  its  duties  and  privileges,  and  containing 
elaborate  directions  for  the  conduct  of  state  cere- 
monials and  the  interior  economy  of  the  royal  house- 
hold. On  this  comparatively  trifling  topic  Constantine 
spent  far  more  pains  than  on  the  works  of  larger 
interest  which  he  composed.  His  books  show  him  to 
have  been  a  man  of  no  great  originative  faculty,  but 


DECAY  OF  LETTERS.  221 

gifted  with  the  powers  of  a  careful  and  methodical 
compiler,  who  loved  details  and  never  shirked  trouble. 
His  care  for  court  pageants  was  very  characteristic  of 
the  peaceful  emperor,  who  had  long  been  kept  at 
home  by  his  guardian,  and  forced  to  compensate 
himself  by  ceremonial  for  the  want  of  real  power. 

The  fact  that  two  successive  emperors  devoted 
themselves  to  literary  work  is  a  sufficient  sign  that 
by  the  end  of  the  ninth  century  the  times  of  intellec- 
tual dearth  and  destitution  which  had  so  long 
prevailed  were  now  at  an  end.  From  the  death  of 
Justinian  to  the  end  of  the  Heraclian  dynasty  matters 
grew  gradually  worse  ;  from  the  rise  of  Leo  the 
Isaurian  onward  they  began  slowly  to  improve.  The 
darkest  age  in  Byzantine  literary  history  was  from 
about  600  to  750,  a  period  in  which  we  have  hardly 
any  contemporary  annalists,  no  poetry  save  the  lost 
Heracliad  of  George  of  Pisidia,  and  very  little  even  of 
theology.  Literature  seemed  absolutely  dead  at  the 
accession  of  the  Isaurians,  but  the  quickening  influence 
of  the  reforms  of  the  great  Leo  seems  to  have  been 
felt  in  that  province  as  in  every  other.  By  the  end 
of  the  eighth  century  writers  were  far  more  numerous, 
though  many  of  them  were  only  anti-Iconoclastic 
controversialists,  like  Theodore  Studita.  By  the  ninth 
century  we  can  trace  the  existence  of  a  much  larger 
literary  class,  and  find  a  few  really  first-rate  authors, 
such  as  the  patriarch  Photius  (857-69),  whose  learning 
and  width  of  culture  was  astonishing,  and  whose 
library-catalogue  is  the  envy  of  modern  scholars. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  development  of 
Byzantine  literature  were  the  epics,  or  Romances  of 


222    THE   LITERARY  EMPERORS   AND    THEIR    TIME 

Chivalry  as  we  feel  more  inclined  to  call  them,  which 
were  written  toward  the  end  of  the  times  of  the 
Macedonian  dynasty.  The  epic  of  Digenes  Akritas, 
a  work  of  the  end  of  the  tenth  century,  celebrating 
the  praises  of  a  hero  who  lived  in  the  reigns  of 
Nicephorus  Phocas  and  John  Zimisces  [963-80],  may 
'serve  as  a  type  of  the  class.  It  tells  of  the  adventures 
in  love  and  war  of  Basil  Digenes  Akritas,  warden  of 
the  Cilician  Marches,  or  "  Clissurarch  of  Taurus,"  as 
his  official  title  would  have  run.  He  was  a  mighty 
hunter,  both  of  bears  and  of  Saracens,  put  down  the 
Apelates  (or  moss-troopers,  to  use  a  modern  analogy) 
who  infested  the  border,  and  led  many  a  foray  into 
Syria.  He  is  even  credited^  with  the  slaying  of  an 
occasional  dragonibyhis  admiring  bard.)  But  perhaps 
the  most  interesting  episode  is  the  story  of  his  elope- 
ment with  the  fair  Eudocia  Ducas,  daughter  of  the 
general  of  the  Cappadocian  theme,  whom  he  carried 
off  in  despite  of  her  father  and  seven  brethren. 
Pursued  by  the  irate  family,  he  rode  them  down  one 
by  one  at  vantage  points  in  the  passes,  but  spared 
their  lives,  and  was  reconciled  to  them  at  the  inter- 
cession of  his  bride.  *'  Digenes  Akritas  "  is  the  best 
as  well  as  the  earliest  of  the  class  which  it  repre- 
sents. 

Art  followed  much  the  same  course  as  literature  in 
the  period  600-900.  It  was  in  a  state  of  decay  for  the 
first  century  and  a  half,  and  the  surviving  works  of 
that  time  are  often  grotesquely  rude.  For  sheer  bad 
drawing  and  bad  execution  nothing  can  be  worse  than 
a  coin  of  Constans  II.  or  Constantinc  V.  ;  a  Prankish 
or  Visigoth  piece  could  not  be  much  more  unsightly. 


A  WARRIOR-SAINT   (ST.   LEONTIUS). 

{From  a  Byzantine  Fresco^ 

{From  '*  VArt  Byzantin''     Par  Charles  Bayet.     Paris,  Quantin.     1883.) 


224    ^^^    LITERARY   EMPERORS   AND    THEIR    TIME. 

The  few  manuscripts  which  survive  from  that  period 
display  a  corresponding,  though  not  an  equally  great, 
decline  in  art.  Mosaic  work  perhaps  showed  less 
decline  than  other  branches  of  the  decoration,  but 
even  here  seventh  and  eighth  century  work  is  very 
rare. 

In  the  ninth  century  everything  improves  wonder- 
fully. It  is  most  astonishing  to  see  how  the  old 
classical  tradition  of  painting  revive  in  the  best 
manuscript  illumination  of  the  period  ;  many  of  them 
might  have  been  executed  in  the  fifth  or  even  the 
fourth  century,  so  closely  do  they  reproduce  the  old 
Roman  style.  It  seems  that  the  Iconoclastic  con- 
troversy stimulated  painting;  persecuted  by  the 
emperors,  the  art  of  sacred  portraiture  became  re- 
spected above  all  others  by  the  multitude.  Several 
of  the  most  prominent  "  Iconodule "  martyrs  were 
painters,  of  whom  it  is  recorded  that  their  works  were 
no  less  beautiful  than  edifying :  those  of  Lazarus, 
whom  the  Emperor  Theophilus  tortured,  are  especially 
cited  as  triumphs  of  art  as  well  as  sanctity. 

Though  a  persecutor  of  painters,  Theophilus 
deserves  a  word  of  mention  as  the  first  great  builder 
since  Justinian,  and  as  a  patron  of  the  minor  arts  of 
jewellery,  silver  work,  and  mosaic.  There  is  good 
evidence  that  these  were  all  in  a  very  flourishing 
condition  in  his  time.     [829-42. j 

There  is  one  more  point  in  the  history  of  the  empire 
in  the  ninth  century  to  which  attention  must  be  called. 
This  is  the  unique  commercial  importance  of  Con- 
stantinople during  this  and  the  two  succeeding 
centuries.      All   other   commerce   than    that    of   the 


THE    COMMERCE   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE,        225 

empire  liad  been  swept  off  the  seas  by  the  Saracen 
pirates  in  the  preceding  hundred  years,  and  the  only 
touch  between  Eastern  and  Western  Christendom  was 
kept  up  under  the  protection  of  the  imperial  navy. 
The  Eastern  products  which  found  their  way  to  Italy 
or  France  were  all  passed  through  the  warehouses  of 
the  Bosphorus.  It  was  East- Roman  ships  that 
carried  all  the  trade  ;  save  a  few  Italian  ports,  such  as 
Amaiphi  and  the  new  city  of  Venice,  no  place  seems 
even  to  have  possessed  merchant  ships.  This  mono- 
poly of  the  commerce  of  Europe  was  one  of  the 
greatest  elements  in  the  strength  of  .the  empire.  So 
much  money  and  goods  passed  through  it  that  a 
rather  harsh  and  unwise  system  of  taxation  did  no 
permanent  harm. 


XVIII. 

MILITARY   GLORY. 

While  Constantine  Porphyrogenitus  had  been 
dragging  out  the  monotonous  years  of  his  long  reign, 
events  which  completely  changed  the  aspect  of  affairs 
in  the  Moslem  East  had  been  following  each  other 
in  quick  succession  on  the  Asiatic  frontier  of  his 
realm.  Ever  since  it  first  came  into  existence  the 
Byzantine  Empire  had  been  faced  in  Asia  by  a 
single  powerful  enemy  ;  first  by  the  Sassanian 
kingdom  of  Eersja,  then  by  the  Caliphate  under  the 
two  dynasties  of  the  Ommeyades  and  the  Abbasidcs. 
Now,  however,  the  Caliphate  had  at  last  broken 
up,  and  the  descendants  of  Abdallah-es-Saffah  and 
Harcun-al-Raschid  had  become  the  vassals  of  a 
rebellious  subject,  and  preserved  a  mere  nominal 
sovereignty  which  did  not  extend  beyond  the  walls 
of  their  palace  in  Bagdad. 

The  crisis  had  come  in  951  A.D.,  when  the  armies  of 
the  Buhawid  prince  Imad-ud-din,  who  had  seized  on 
the  sovereignty  of  Persia,  broke  into  Bagdad  and 
made  the  Caliph  a  prisoner  in  his  own  royal  resi- 
dence.     P^or   the  future  the   Caliphs   were  no  more 


DECAY   OF    THE   SARACEN   POWER.  227 

than  puppets,  and  the  Buhawid  rulers  used  their 
names  as  a  mere  form  and  pretence.  But  the  con- 
querors did  not  gain  possession  of  the  whole  of  the 
Caliphate  ;  only  Persia  and  the  Lower  Euphrates 
Valley  obeyed  them.  Other  dynasties  rose  and 
fought  for  the  more  western  provinces  of  the  old 
Moslem  realm.  The  Emirs  of  Aleppo  and  Mosul, 
who  ruled  respectively  in  North  Syria  and  in  Meso- 
potamia, became  the  immediate  neighbours  of  the 
East-Roman  Empire,  while  the  lands  beyond  them, 
Egypt  and  South  Syria,  formed  the  dominions  of  the 
house  of  the  Ikshides. 

Thus  the  Byzantines  found  on  their  eastern  frontier 
no  longer  one  great  centralized  power,  but  the  com- 
paratively weak  Emirates  of  Aleppo  and  Mosul,  with 
the  Buhawid  and  Ikshidite  kingdoms  in  their  rear. 
The  four  Moslem  states  were  all  new  and  precarious 
creations  of  the  sword,  and  were  generally  at  war 
with  each  other.  An  unparalleled  opportunity  had 
arrived  for  the  empire  to  take  its  revenge  on  its 
ancient  enemies  and  to  move  back  the  Mahometan 
boundaries  from  the  line  along  the  Taurus  where  they 
had  so  long  been  fixed. 

Fortunately  it  was  not  only  the  hour  that  had 
arrived,  but  also  the  man.  The  empire  had  at  its 
disposal  at  this  moment  the  best  soldier  that  it  had 
possessed  since  the  death  of  Leo  the  Isaurian. 
Nicephorus  Phocas  was  the  head  of  one  of  those  great 
landholding  families  of  Asia  Minor  who  formed  the 
flower  of  the  Byzantine  aristocracy ;  he  owned  broad 
lands  in  Cappadocia,  along  the  Mahometan  frontier. 
His  father  and  grandfather  before  him  had  been  dis- 


228  MILITARY   GLORY, 

tinguished  officers,  for  the  whole  race  lived  by  the 
sword,  but  Nicephorus  far  surpassed  them.  He  was 
not  only  a  practical  soldier,  but  a  military  author  : 
his  book,  Uepl  napaBp6fjLr]<;  iroXifMov,  dealing  with  the 
organization  of  armies,  still  survives  to  testify  to  his 
capacity. 

It  was  on  Nicephorus  then  that  Romanus  II.,  the 
son  and  heir  of  Constantine  VII.,  fixed  his  choice, 
when  he  resolved  to  commence  an  attack  on  the  Ma- 
hometan powers.  The  point  selected  for  assault  was 
the  island  of  Crete,  the  dangerous  haunt  of  Corsairs 
which  lay  across  the  mouth  of  the  Aegean,  and  shel- 
tered the  pestilent  galleys  that  preyed  on  the  trade  of 
the  empire  with  the  West.  Several  expeditions  against 
it  had  failed  during  the  last  half-century,  but  this  one 
was  fitted  out  on  the  largest  scale.  The  vessels  are 
said  to  have  been  numbered  by  the  thousand,  and  the 
land  force  was  chosen  from  the  flower  of  the  Asiatic 
"  themes."  Complete  success  followed  the  arms  of 
Nicephorus.  He  drove  the  Saracens  into  their 
chief  town  Chandax  (Candia),  stormed  that  city,  and 
took  an  enormous  booty — the  hoarded  wealth  of  a 
century  of  piracy.  The  whole  island  then  submitted, 
and  Nicephorus  sailed  back  to  Constantinople  to 
present  to  his  sovereign,  in  bonds,  Kurup  the  captive 
Emir  of  Crete,  and  all  the  best  of  the  booty  of  the 
island  [961  A.D.]. 

Nicephorus  was  duly  honoured  for  his  feat  of  arms, 
and  given  command  of  an  army  destined  to  open  a 
campaign  in  the  next  year  against  the  great  frontier 
strongholds  of  the  Saracens  in  Asia  Minor.  De- 
scending by  the  passes  of  the  Central  Taurus  into 


CONQUESTS   OF  NICEPHORUS   PHOCAS.         229 

Cilicia,  Phocas  stormed  Anazarbus,  and  then  forced 
Mount  Amanus,  and  marched  into  Northern  Syria. 
There  he  took  the  great  town  of  HierapoHs,  and  laid 
siege  to  Aleppo,  the  capital  of  the  Emir  Seyf-ud- 
dowleh,  who  ruled  from  Mount  Lebanon  to  the 
Euphrates.  The  Emir  was  routed,  the  walls  of  his 
capital  were  stormed,  and  Aleppo,  with  all  its  wealth, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Byzantine  general.  But  the 
citadel  still  held  out,  and  its  protracted  resistance 
gave  time  for  the  Moslems  of  South  Syria  and  Meso- 
potamia to  combine  for  the  relief  of  their  northern 
compatriots.  So  great  an  army  appeared  before  the 
walls  of  Aleppo  that  Phocas  determined  not  to  risk  a 
battle,  and  retreated  with  his  booty  and  his  numerous 
prisoners  into  the  defiles  of  Taurus  [962  A.D.].  Sixty 
captured  forts  and  castles  in  Cilicia  and  North  Syria 
were  the  permanent  fruits  of  his  campaign. 

The  next  year  the  emperor  Romanus  II.  died,  very 
unexpectedly,  ere  he  had  reached  his  twenty-sixth 
year.  He  left  a  young  wife,  and  two  little  boys, 
Basil,  aged  seven,  and  Constantine,  who  was  only 
two.  There  followed  the  form  of  regency  that 
custom  had  made  usual.  Nicephorus,  the  most 
powerful  and  popular  subject  of  the  empire,  claimed 
the  guardianship  of  the  two  young  Caesars,  and  had 
himself  crowned  as  their  colleague.  To  secure  his 
place  he  married  their  mother,  the  young  and 
beautiful  empress-dowager  Theophano. 

The  joint  reign  of  Nicephorus  Phocas  and  his 
wards,  Basil  II.  and  Constantine  VIII.  lasted  six 
years,  963-969.  The  regent  behaved  with  scrupulous 
loyalty  to  the  young  princes,  and  made  no  attempt  to 


230  MILITARY    GLORY. 

encroach  on  their  rights,  or  to  supplant  them  by  any 
of  his  numerous  nephews,  who  had  looked  forward  to 
his  accession  as  likely  to  lead  to  their  own  promotion 
to  imperial  power. 

Nicephorus  was  an  indefatigable  soldier,  and  spent 
more  of  his  reign  in  the  field  than  in  the  palace.  His 
end  in  life  was  to  complete,  as  emperor,  the  conquest 
of  Cilicia  and  North  Syria,  which  he  had  commenced 
as  general.  The  years  964  and  965  were  spent  in 
achieving  the  former  object :  three  long  sieges  made 
him  master  of  the  great  Cilician  frontier  fortresses, 
Adana,  Mopsuestia,  and  Tarsus.  Their  rich  bronze 
gates  were  sent  as  trophies  to  Constantinople,  and  set 
up  again  in  the  archways  of  the  imperial  palace.  A 
few  months  later  the  tale  of  victories  was  completed 
by  the  news  that  Cyprus  also  had  fallen  back  into 
Byzantine  hands,  after  having  ^^assed  seventy-seven 
years  in  the  power  of  the  Saracens. 

For  two  years  after  this  Phocas  was  employed  at 
home,  where  his  administration  was  less  popular  than 
in  the  camp.  The  stern  old  soldier  was  not  a  friend 
of  either  priests  or  courtiers.  He  had  several  quarrels 
with  the  patriarch  Polyeuctus,  which  made  him  de- 
tested by  the  clergy,  and  in  his  public  life  he  dis- 
played a  dislike  for  pomp  and  ceremony  which  led  the 
Byzantine  populace  to  style  him  a  niggard  and  an 
extortioner.  He  suppressed  shows  and  sports,  and 
turned  all  the  public  revenues  into  the  war  budget, 
which  lay  nearest  his  heart.  When  he  left  the  city  in 
968  for  a  new  campaign  against  the  Saracens,  he  was 
a  much  less  popular  ruler  than  when  he  had  entered 
it  in  triumph  in  966  after  the  conquest  of  Cilicia. 


CAPTURE    OF  ANTIOCH.  23I 

In  the  camp,  however,  Nicephorus  was  as  well  loved 
and  as  successful  as  ever.  His  last  Syrian  expedition 
was  no  less  glorious  than  his  earlier  campaign  in  the 
same  quarter  six  years  before.  All  the  North  Syrian 
cities  fell  into  his  hands — Emesa,  Hierapolis,  Laodicea, 
and  with  them  Aleppo,  the  residence  of  the  Emir : 
Damascus  bought  off  the  invader  by  a  great  tribute. 
Only  Antioch,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  land,  held 
out,  and  Antioch  also  was  taken  in  the  winter  by 
escalade,  through  the  daring  of  an  officer  named 
Burtzes.  The  story  of  its  fall  is  curious.  The  Em- 
peror had  left  a  blockading  army  before  it  under  a 
general  named  Peter,  with  orders  not  to  risk  an  assault. 
Burtzes,  the  second  in  command,  disobeyed  orders 
and  stormed  a  corner  tower  on  a  snowy  night  at  the 
head  of  a  small  band  of  300  men.  Peter,  in  fear  of 
the  Emperor's  orders,  refused  to  send  him  aid,  and  for 
more  than  two  days  Burtzes  maintained  himself 
unaided  in  the  tower  he  had  won.  At  last,  however, 
the  main  body  entered,  and  the  Saracens  fled  from 
the  town..  Nicephorus  dismissed  both  his  generals 
from  the  service — Burtzes  for  having  acted  against 
orders,  Peter  for  having  obeyed  them  too  slavishly,  and 
allowing  an  important  advantage  to  be  imperilled. 

Nicephorus  returned  to  Constantinople  in  the 
following  year,  to  meet  his  death  at  the  hands  of  those 
who  should  have  been  his  nearest  and  dearest.  His 
wife,  Theophano  had  learnt  to  hate  her  grim  and 
stern  husband,  who,  though  he  possessed  all  the 
virtues,  displayed  none  of  the  graces.  She  had  cast 
-her  eyes  in  love  on  the  Emperor's  favourite  nephew, 
John    Zimisces,   a   young   cavalry   officer,   who    had 


232 


MILITARY   GLORY. 


greatly  distinguished  himself  in  the  Syrian  war. 
Zimisces  listened  to  her  tempting,  but  he  was  not 
swayed  by  lust,  but  by  ambition  :  he  had  hoped  that 
his  uncle  would  make  him  heir  to  the  throne,  to  the 
detriment  of  the  young  emperor    Basil.     The    loyal 


RlilURN    OF    A    VJCTOKIOUS    EMPEROR. 

{.From  an  Embroidered  Robe.) 
{From  ''VArt  Byzaiitin:'     Par  Charles  Bayet.     Paris,  Quanfin,  1883.) 

old  soldier  had  no  idea  of  wronging  his  wards,  and 
his  nephew  resolved  to  gain  by  murder  what  he  could 
not  gain  by  favour. 

So  John    and   Theophano  conspired  against   their 
best  friend,  and  basely  murdered  him  in  the  palace 


MURDER   OF  NICEPHORUS   I.  233 

one  December  night  in  969.  The  Emperor  was 
awakened  from  sleep  to  find  a  dozen  of  the  assassins 
forcing  his  door.  John  threw  him  to  the  ground,  and 
the  others  stabbed  him,  while  he  cried  in  his  death- 
agony,  "  Oh,  God  !  grant  me  Thy  mercy  !  " 

Thus  ended  the  brave  and  virtuous  Nicephorus 
Phocas.  His  murderers  succeeded  in  their  end,  for 
John  Zimisces  was  able  to  seduce  the  guards,  over- 
awe the  ministers,  and  force  the  patriarch  to  crown 
him  emperor.  He  showed  some  contrition  for  the  base 
slaughter  of  his  uncle,  giving  away  half  his  private 
fortune  to  found  hospitals  for  lepers,  and  the  other 
half  to  be  distributed  among  the  poor  of  the  city. 
He  did  not  wed  the  partner  of  his  guilt,  the  empress 
Theophano,  but  refused  to  see  her  face,  and  ultimately 
sent  her  to  a  monastery. 

If  the  manner  of  his  accession  could  but  be  forgiven 
John  might  pass  for  a  favourable  specimen  of  an 
emperor.  He  respected  the  rights  of  the  young 
emperors  Basil  and  Constantine  as  scrupulously  as  his 
uncle  had  done,  and  proved  that  as  an  adminstrator 
and  a  soldier  he  was  not  unworthy  to  sit  in  the  seat  of 
Phocas.  But  the  Nemesis  of  the  murder  of  his  uncle 
rested  upon  him  in  the  shape  of  a  long  civil  war.  His 
cousin  Bardas  Phocas  took  arms  to  revenge  the  death 
of  the  old  Nicephorus,  and  stirred  up  troubles  among 
his  Cappadocian  countrymen  for  several  years,  till  at 
last  he  was  captured  and  immured  in  a  monastery. 

The  chief  feat  for  which  John  Zimisces  is  remembered 
is  his  splendid  victory  over  the  Russians,  whose  great 
invasion  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  falls  within  the 
limits  of  his  reign.  We  have  not  yet  had  much  occasion 


234 


MILITARY   GLORY. 


to  mention  the  Russian  tribes,  who  for  many  centuries 
had  been  dwelling  in  obscurity  and  barbarism,  by  the 
waters  of  the  Dnieper  and  the  Duna,  in  a  land  of 
forest  and  marsh,  far  remote  from  the  boundaries  of 
the  empire.  Nor  should  we  hear  of  them  now,  but 
for  the  fact  that  their  scattered  tribes  had  been  of  late 
unified  into  a  single  horde  by  a  power  from  without,  and 
u  rged  forward  into  a  career  of  conquest  by  a  race  of  ambi- 
tious princes.  Into  the  land  of  the  Russians  there  had 
come  some  hundred  years  before  the  reign  of  John 
Zimisces  [S62  A.D.],  a  Viking  band  from  Sweden, 
headed  by  Rurik,  the  ancestor  of  all  the  princes  and 
Tzars  of  Russia.  The  descendants  of  these  adventurers 
from  the  north  had  gradually  conquered  and  subdued 
all  the  Slavonic  tribes  of  the  great  forest-land,  and 
formed  them  into  a  single  powerful  kingdom.  Its 
capital  lay  at  Kief  on  the  Dnieper,  and  it  had  proved  a 
formidable  neighbour  to  all  the  barbarous  tribes  around. 
The  Viking  blood  of  the  new  Russian  princes  drove 
them  seaward,  and  ere  many  generations  had  passed 
they  had  forced  their  way  down  the  Dnieper  into  the 
Euxine,  and  begun  to  vex  the  northern  borders  of  the 
Byzantine  Empire  with  raids  and  ravages  like  those 
which  the  Danes  inflicted  on  Western  Europe.  Twice 
already,  within  the  tenth  centur}-,  had  large  fleets  of 
light  Russia  row-boats — they  were  copies  on  a  smaller 
scale  of  the  Viking  ships  of  the  North — stolen  down 
from  the  Dnieper  mouth  to  the  shores  of  Thrace,  and 
landed  their  plundering  crews  within  a  few  miles  of 
the  Bosphorus,  for  a  hurried  raid  on  the  rich  suburban 
provinces.  On  the  first  occasion  in  907,  the  Russians 
had  returned  home  laden  with  plunder,  but  on  the 


JOHN   ZIMISCES   DEFEATS    THE   RUSSIANS.     235 

second,  which  fell  in  941,  the  Byzantine  fleet  had 
caught  them  at  sea,  and  revenged  the  harrying  of 
Thrace  by  sinking  sco  res  of  their  light  boats,  which 
could  not  resist  for  a  moment  the  impact  of  the  heavy 
war-galley  urged  by  its  hundred  oars. 

But  the  attack  which  John  Zimisces  had  to  meet 
in  970  was  far  more  formidable  than  either  of  those 
which  had  preceded  it.  Swiatoslaf,  king  of  the 
Russians,  had  come  down  the  Dnieper  with  no  less 
than  60,000  men,  and  had  thrown  himself  on  to  the 
kingdom  of  Bulgaria,  which  was  at  the  moment 
distracted  by  civil  war.  He  conquered  the  whole 
country,  and  soon  his  marauders  were  crossing  the 
Balkans  and  showing  themselves  in  the  plain  of  Thrace. 
They  even  sacked  the  considerable  town  of  Philippo- 
polis  before  the  imperial  troops  came  to  its  aid.  This 
roused  Zimisces,  who  had  been  absent  in  Asia  Minor, 
and  in  the  early  spring  of  971  an  imperial  army  of 
30,000  men  set  out  to  cross  the  Balkans  and  drive 
the  Russians  into  the  Danube.  The  struggle  which 
ensued  was  one  of  the  most  desperate  which  East- 
Roman  history  records.  The  Russians  all  fought  on 
foot,  in  great  square  columns,  armed  with  spear  and 
axe :  they  wore  mail  shirts  and  peaked  helmets,  just 
like  the  Normans  of  Western  Europe,  to  whom  their 
princes  were  akin.  The  shock  of  their  columns  was 
terrible,  and  their  constancy  in  standing  firm  almost 
incredible.  Against  these  warriors  of  the  North 
Zimisces  led  the  mailed  horsemen  of  the  Asiatic 
themes,  and  the  bowmen  and  slingers  who  were  the 
flower  of  the  Byzantine  infantry.  The  tale  of  John's 
two  great  battles  with  the  Russians  at  Presthlava  and 


ARABESQUE  DESIGN   FROM  A  BYZANTINE  MS. 
{From  '■'■LArt  Byzantin.^^    Par  Charles  Bayet.     Farts,  Quantiny  1883.) 


TRIUMPH   OF   ZIMISCES.  237 

Silistria  reads  much  like  the  tale  of  the  battle  of 
Hastings.  In  Bulgaria,  as  in  Sussex,  the  sturdy  axe- 
man long  beat  off  the  desperate  cavalry  charges  of 
their  opponents.  But  they  could  not  resist  the  hail 
of  arrows  to  which  they  had  no  missile  weapons  to 
oppose,  and  when  once  the  archers  had  thinned  their 
ranks,  the  Byzantine  cavalry  burst  in,  and  made  a 
fearful  slaughter  in  the  broken  phalanx.  More  fortunate 
than  Harold  Godwineson  at  the  field  of  Senlac,  King 
Swiatoslaf  escaped  with  his  life  and  the  relics  of  his 
army..  But  he  was  beleaguered  within  the  walls  of 
Silistria,  and  forced  to  yield  h-'mself,  on  the  terms  that 
he  and  his  men  might  take  their  way  homeward,  on 
swearing  never  to  molest  the  empire  again.  The 
Russian  swore  the  oath  and  took  a  solemn  farewell  of 
Zimisces.  The  contrast  between  the  two  monarchs 
struck  Leo  the  Deacon,  a  chronicler  who  seems  to 
have  been  present  at  the  scene,  and  caused  him  to 
describe  the  meeting  with  some  vigour.  We  learn 
how  the  Emperor,  a  small  alert  fair-haired  man,  sat  on 
his  great  war-horse  by  the  river  bank,  in  his  golden 
armour  with  his  guards  about  him,  while  the  burly 
Viking  rowed  to  meet  him  in  a  boat,  clad  in  nothing 
but  a  white  shirt,  and  with  his  long  moustache  floating 
in  the  wind.  They  bade  each  other  adieu,  and  the 
Russian  departed,  only  to  fall  in  battle  ere  the  year 
was  out,  at  the  hands  of  the  Patzinak  Tartars  of  the 
Southern  Steppes.  Soon  after  Swiatoslaf  s  death  the 
majority  of  the  Russians  became  Christians,  and  ere 
long  ceased  to  trouble  the  empire  by  their  raids. 
They  became  faithful  adherents  of  the  Eastern  Church, 
and  drew  their  learning,  their  civilization,  even  their 


RUSSIAN    ARCmiKCriiKK    !■  ROM    BYZA  N  II N  F.    MODEL. 

{Church  at    Vladimir.) 
{From''IJ'Art  Byza}iti>i.'"    Par  Charles  Bayet.    Paris,  Qitantin, 


1883.) 


DEATH   OF  ZIMISCES.  239 

names  and  titles  from  Constantinople.  The  Tzars 
are  but  Caesars  misspelt,  and  the  list  of  their  names 
— Michael,  Alexander,  Nicholas,  John,  Peter,  Alexis 
— sufficient^  witnesses  to  their  Byzantine  godparents. 
Russian  mercenaries  were  ere  long  enlisted  in  the 
imperial  army,  and  formed  the  nucleus  of  the 
"  Varangian  guard,"  in  which  at  a  later  day,  Danes, 
English,  and  Norsemen  of  all  sorts  were  incorporated. 
John  Zimisces  survived  his  great  victory  at  Silistria 
for  five  years,  and  won,  ere  he  died,  more  territory  in 
Northern  Syria  from  the  Saracens.  The  border 
which  his  uncle  Nicephorus  had  pushed  forward  to 
Antioch  and  Aleppo  was  advanced  by  him  as  far  as 
Amida  and  Edessa  in  Mesopotamia.  But  in  the 
midst  of  his  conquests  Zimisces  was  cut  off  by  death, 
while  still  in  the  flower  of  his  age.  Report  whispered 
that  he  had  been  poisoned  by  one  of  his  ministers, 
whom  he  had  threatened  to  displace.  But  the  tale 
cannot  be  verified,  and  all  that  is  certain  is  that  John 
died  after  a  short  illness,  leaving  the  throne  to  his 
young  ward  Basil  II.,  who  had  now  attained  the  age 
of  twenty  years  [976  A.D.]. 


XIX. 

THE  END  OF  THE   MACEDONIAN   DYNASTY. 

Basil  II.,  who  now  sat  in  his  own  right  on  the 
throne  which  his  warHke  guardians  Nicephorus  and 
John  had  so  long  protected,  was  by  no  means  un- 
worthy to  succeed  them.  UnHke  his  ancestors  of  the 
Macedonian  house,  he  showed  from  the  first  a  love  for 
war  and  adventure.  Probably  the  deeds  of  John  and 
Nicephorus  excited  him  to  emulation  :  at  any  rate 
his  long  reign  from  976  till  1025,  is  one  continuous 
record  of  wars,  and  almost  entirely  of  wars  brought 
to  a  successful  termination.  Basil  seemed  to  have 
modelled  himself  on  the  elder  of  his  two  guardians, 
the  stern  Nicephorus  Phocas.  His  earliest  years  on 
the  throne,  indeed,  were  spent  in  the  pursuit  of 
pleasure,  but  ere  he  reached  the  age  of  thirty  a 
sudden  transformation  was  visible  in  him.  He  gave 
himself  up  entirely  to  war  and  religion  :  he  took  a 
vow  of  chastity,  and  always  wore  the  garb  of  a  monk 
under  his  armour  and  his  imperial  robes.  His  piety 
was  exaggerated  into  bigotry  and  fanaticism,  but  it 
was  undoubtedly  real,  though  it  did  not  keep  him 
from  the  commission  of  many  deeds  of  shocking  cruelty 


THE   BULGARIAN    WARS.  24I 

in  the  course  of  his  wars.  His  justice  was  equally 
renowned,  but  it  often  degenerated  into  mere  harsh- 
ness and  indifference  to  suffering.  No  one  could 
have  been  more  unlike  his  gay  pleasure-loving  father, 
or  his  mildliterary  grandfather,  than  the  grim  emperor 
who  won  from  posterity  the  title  of  Bulgaroktonos, 
"the  Slayer  of  the  Bulgarians." 

Basil's  life-work  was  the  moving  back  of  the  East- 
Roman  border  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula  as  far  as  the 
Danube,  a  line  which  it  had  not  touched  since  the  Sla- 
vonic immigration  in  the  days  of  Heraclius,  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  before.  In  the  first  years  of  his 
reign,  indeed,  he  accomplished  little,  being  much 
harassed  by  tw^o  rebellions  of  great  Asiatic  nobles — . 
Bardas  Phocas,  the  nephew  of  Nicephorus  II.,  and 
Bardas  Skleros,  the  general  of  the  Armeniac  theme. 
But  after  Phocas  had  died  and  Skleros  had  surren- 
dered, Basil  reserved  all  his  energies  for  war  in  Europe, 
paying  comparatively  little  attention  to  the  Eastern 
conquests  which  had  engrossed  Nicephorus  Phocas 
and  John  Zimisces. 

The  whole  interior  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  formed 
at  this  period  part  of  the  dominions  of  Samuel  King 
of  the  Bulgarians,  who  reigned  over  Bulgaria,  Servia, 
inland  Macedonia,  and  other  districts  around  them. 
It  was  a  strong  and  compact  kingdom,  administered 
by  an  able  man,  who  had  won  his  way  to  the  throne 
by  sheer  strength  and  ability,  for  the  old  royal  house 
had  ceased  out  of  the  land  during  Swiatoslaf  s  invasion 
of  Bulgaria  ten  years  before.  The  main  power  of 
Samuel  lay  not  in  the  land  between  Balkan  and 
Danube,  which  gave  his  kingdom  its  name,  but  in  the 


242  THE   END   OF    THE    MACEDONIAN   DYNASTY. 

Slavonic  districts  further  West  and  South.  The 
centre  of  his  realm  was  the  fortress  of  Ochrida,  which 
he  had  chosen  as  his  capital — a  strong  town  situated 
on  a  lake  among  the  Macedonian  hills.  There 
Samuel  mustered  his.  armies,  and  from  thence  he 
started  forth  to  attac^  either  Thessalonica  or  Adrian- 
ople,  as  the  opportunity  might  come  to  him. 

The  duel  between  Basil  and  Samuel  lasted  no  less 
than  thirty-four  years,  till  the  Bulgarian  king  died 
a  beaten  man  in  1014.  This  long  and  unremitting 
struggle  taxed  all  the  energies  of  the  empire,  for 
Samuel  was  not  a  foe  to  be  despised  ;  he  was  no  mere 
barbarian,  but  had  learnt  the  art  of  war  from  his 
Byzantine  neighbours,  and  had  specially  studied 
fortification.  It  was  the  desperate  defences  of  his 
numerous  hill-castles  that  made  Basil's  task  such  a 
long  one.  The  details  of  the  struggle  are  too  long 
to  follow  out :  suffice  it  to  say  that  after  some  defeats 
in  his  earlier  years,  Basil  accomplished  the  conquest 
of  Bulgaria  proper,  as  far  as  the  Danube,  in  1002,  the 
year  in  which  Widdin,  the  last  of  Samuel's  strongholds 
in  the  North  surrendered  to  him.  For  twelve  years 
more  the  enemy  held  out  in  the  Central  Balkans,  in 
his  Macedonian  strongholds,  about  Ochrida  and 
Uskup.  But  at  last,  Basil's  constant  victories  in  the 
field,  and  his  relentless  slaughter  of  captives  after  the 
day  was  won,  broke  the  force  of  the  Bulgarian  king. 
In  1014  the  Emperor  gained  a  crowning  victory,  after 
which  he  took  15,000  prisoners  :  he  put  out  the  eyes 
of  all  save  one  man  in  each  hundred,  and  sent  the 
poor  wretches  with  their  guides  to  seek  King  Samuel 
in  his  capital.     The  old   Bulgarian   was  so  overcome 


DEATH   OF  KING   SAMUEL.  243 

at  the  horrible  sight  that  he  was  seized  with  a  fit,  and 
died  on  the  spot,  of  rage  and  grief.  His  successors 
Gabriel  and  Ladislas  could  make  no  head  against  the 
stern  and  relentless  emperor,  and  in  1018  the  last 
fortress  of  the  kingdom  of  OchxidB-  surrendered  at 
discretion.  Contrary  to  his  habit,  Basil  treated  the 
vanquished  foe  with  mildness,  indulged  in  no  massa- 
cres, and  contented  himself  with  repairing  the  old 
Roman  roads  and  fortresses  of  the  Central  Balkans, 
without  attempting  to  exterminate  the  Slavonic  tribes 
that  had  so  often  defied  him.  His  conquests  rounded 
off  the  empire  on  its  northern  frontier,  and  made  it 
touch  the  Magyar  kingdom  of  Hungary,  for  Servia 
no  less  than  Bulgaria  and  Macedonia  formed  part  of 
his  conquests.  The  Byzantine  border  now  ran  from 
Belgrade  to  the  Danube  mouth,  a  line  which  it  was 
destined  to  preserve  for  nearly  two  hundred  years,  till 
the  great  rebellion  of  Bulgaria  against  Isaac  Angelus 
in  the  year  1|86. 

Having  justly  earned  his  grim  title  of  "the  Slayer 
of  the  Bulgarians"  by  his  long  series  of  victories  in 
Europe,  Basil  turiled  in  his  old  age  to  continue  the 
work  of  John  Zimisces  on  the  Eastern  frontier.  There 
the  Moslem  states  were  still  weak  and  divided  ;  though 
a  new  power,  the  Fatimite  dynasty  in  Egypt,  had 
come  to  the  front,  and  acquired  an  ascendency  over 
its  neighbours.  Basil's  last  campaigns,  in  102 1 -2,  were 
directed  against  the  princes  of  Armenia,  and  the 
Iberians  and  Abasgians  who  dwelt  beyond  them  to 
the  north.  His  arms  were  entirely  successful,  and  he 
added  many  Armenian  districts  to  his  Eastern 
provinces  ;  but  it  may  be  questioned  whether  these 


244     ^^^   ^^^   ^^   ^^^    MACEDONIAN   DYNASTY. 

conquests  were  beneficial  to  the  empire.  A  strong 
Armenian  kingdom  was  a  useful  neighbour  to  the 
Byzantine  realm ;  being  a  Christian  state  it  was 
usually  friendly  to  the  empire,  and  acted  as  a 
barrier  against  Moslem  attacks  from  Persia.  Basil 
broke  up  the  Armenian  power,  but  did  not  annex  the 
whole  country,  or  establish  in  it  any  adequate 
provision  against  the  ultimate  danger  of  attacks  from 
the  East  by  the  Mahometan  powers. 

Basil  died  in  1025  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight,  just  as 
he  was  preparing  to  send  forth  an  expedition  to 
rescue  Sicily  from  the  hands  of  the  Saracens.  He  had 
won  more  provinces  for  the  empire  than  any  general 
since  the  days  of  the  great  Belisarius,  and  at  his  death 
the  Byzantine  borders  had  reached  the  furthest 
extension  which  they  ever  knew.  His  successors 
were  to  be  unworthy  of  his  throne,  and  were  des- 
tined to  lose  provinces  with  as  constant  regularity 
as  he  himself  had  shown  in  gaining  them.  There  was 
to  be  no  one  after  him  who  could  boast  that  he  had 
fought  thirty  campaigns  in  the  open  field  with  harness 
on  his  back,  and  had  never  turned  aside  from  any 
enterprise  that  he  had  ever  taken  in  hand. 

Basil's  brother  Constantine  had  been  his  col- 
league in  name  all  through  the  half  century  of  his 
reign.  No  one  could  have  been  more  unlike  the  ascetic 
and  indefatigable  "  Slayer  of  the  Bulgarians."  Con- 
stantine was  a  mere  worlding,  a  man  of  pleasure,  a 
votary  of  the  table  and  the  wine  cup,  whose  only 
redeeming  tastes  were  a  devotion  to  music  and  litera- 
ture. He  had  dwelt  in  his  corner  of  the  palace 
surrounded  by  a  little  court  of  eunuchs  and  flatterers, 


THE   EMPRESS   ZOE,  245 

and  excluded  by  the  stern  Basil  from  all  share  and 
lot  in  the  administration  of  the  empire.  Now  Con- 
stantine  found  himself  the  heir  of  his  childless  brother, 
and  was  forced  at  the  age  of  sixty  to  take  up  the 
responsibilities  of  empire.  He  proved  an  idle  and  in- 
competent, but  not  an  actively  mischievous  sovereign. 
His  worst  act  was  to  hand  over  the  administration  of 
the  chief  offices  of  state  to  six  of  his  old  courtiers  — 
all  eunuchs — whose  elevation  was  a  cause  of  wild 
anger  to  the  great  noble  families,  and  whose  inex- 
perience led  to  much  weak  and  futile  government 
during  his  short  reign. 

Constantine  died  in  1028,  after  a  very  brief  taste  of 
empire.  He  was  the  last  male  of  the  Macedonian 
house,  and  left  no  heirs  save  his  elderly  unmarried 
daughters — whose  education  and  moral  training  he 
had  grossly  neglected.  Zoe,  the  eldest,  was  more  than 
forty  years  of  age,  but  her  father  had  never  found  her 
a  husband.  On  his  death-bed,  however,  he  sent  for 
a  middle-aged  noble  named  Romanus  Argyrus,  and 
forced  him,  at  an  hour's  notice,  to  wed  the  princess. 
Only  two  days  later  Romanus  found  himself  left,  by 
his  father-in-law's  death,  titular  head  of  the  empire. 
But  Zoe,  a  clever,  obstinate,  and  unscrupulous  woman, 
kept  the  reins  of  authority  in  her  own  hands,  and  gave 
her  unwilling  spouse  many  an  evil  hour.  She  was 
inordinately  vain,  and  pretended,  like  Queen  Eliza- 
beth of  England,  to  be  the  mistress  of  all  hearts  long 
after  she  was  well  advanced  in  middle  age.  Her 
husband  let  her  go  her  own  way,  and  devoted  himself 
to  such  affairs  of  state  as  he  was  allowed  to  manage. 
His  interference  with  warlike  matters  was  most  un- 


246  THE    END   OF   THE    MACEDONIAN    DYNASTY, 

happy.  Venturing  a  campaign  in  Syria,  he  led  his 
army  to  defeat,  and  saw  several  towns  on  the  border 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Emir  of  Aleppo.  After  a 
reign  of  six  years  Romanus  died  of  a  lingering  disease, 
and  Zoe  was  left  a  widow.  Almost  before  the  breath 
was  out  of  her  husband's  body,  the  volatile  empress 
— she  was  now  over  fifty — had  chosen  and  wedded 
another  partner.  The  new  emperor  was  Michael  the 
Paphlagonian,  a  young  courtier  who  had  been  Gentle- 
man of  the  Bedchamber  to  Romanus  :  he  was  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age  and  noted  as  the  most  handsome 
man  in  Constantinople.  His  good  looks  had  won 
Zoe's  fancy,  and  to  his  own  surprise  he  found  himself 
seated  on  the  throne  by  his  elderly  admirer  [1034]. 

The  object  of  Zoe's  anile  affection  was  a  capable 
man,  and  justified  his  rather  humiliating  elevation 
by  good  service  to  the  empire.  He  beat  back  the 
Saracens  from  Syria  and  put  down  a  Bulgarian 
rebellion  with  success.  But  in  his  last  years  he  saw 
Servia,  one  of  the  conquests  of  Basil  H.,  burst  out  into 
revolt,  and  could  not  quell  it.  He  also  failed  in  a 
project  to  reconquer  Sicily  from  the  Moors,  though  he 
sent  against  the  island  George  Maniakes,  the  best 
general  of  the  day,  who  won  many  towns  and  defeated 
the  Moslems  in  two  pitched  battles.  The  attempt  to 
subdue  the  whole  island  failed,  and  the  conquests  of 
Maniakes  were  lost  one  after  the  other.  Michael  IV., 
though  still  a  young  man,  was  fearfully  afflicted  with 
epileptic  fits,  which  sapped  his  health,  and  so  enfeebled 
him  that  he  died  a  hopeless  invalid  ere  he  reached  the 
age  of  thirty-six.  The  irrepressible  Zoe,  now  again  a 
widow,  took  a  few  days  to  decide  whether  she  would 


ZOES    THIRD   MARRIAGE.  247 

adopt  a  son,  or  marry  a  third  husband.  She  first 
tried  the  former  alternative,  and  crowned  as  her 
colleague  her  late  spouse's  nephew  and  namesake 
Michael  V.  But  the  young  man  proved  ungrateful, 
and  strove  to  deprive  the  aged  empress  of  the  control 
of  affairs.  When  he  announced  his  intention  of 
removing  her  from  the  capital,  the  city  mob,  who 
loved  the  Macedonian  house,  and  laughed  at  rather 
than  reprobated  the  foibles  of  Zoe,  took  arms  to 
defend  their  mistress.  In  a  fierce  fight  between  the 
rioters  and  the  guards  of  Michael  V.,  3,000  lives 
were  lost :  but  the  insurgents  had  the  upper  hand, 
routed  the  soldiery,  and  caught  and  blinded  Michael. 

Zoe,  once  more  at  the  head  of  the  state,  now  made 
her  third  marriage,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two.  She 
chose  as  her  partner  Constantine  Monomachus,  an 
old  debauchee  who  had  been  her  lover  thirty  years  ago. 
Their  joint  reign  was  unhappy  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  Frequent  rebellions  broke  out  both  in  Asia 
Minor  and  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  The  Patzinaks 
sent  forays  across  the  Danube,  while  a  new  enemy, 
the  Normxans  of  South  Italy,  conquered  the  "  theme 
of  Langobardia,"  the  last  Byzantine  possession  to  the 
West  of  the  Adriatic,  and  established  in  its  stead  the 
duchy  of  Apulia  [1055].  A  still  more  dangerous  foe 
began  also  to  be  heard  of  along  the  Eastern  frontier. 
The  Seljouk  Turks  were  now  commencing  a  career  of 
conquest  in  Persia  and  the  lands  on  the  Oxus.  In 
1048  the  advance  guard  of  their  hordes  began  to 
ravage  the  Armenian  frontier  of  the  empire.  But 
this  danger  was  not  yet  a  pressing  one. 

When  Zoe   and  Constantine  IX.    were   dead,   the 


248    THE    END   OF    THE   MACEDONIAN   DYNASTY. 

sole  remaining  scion  of  the  Macedonian  house  was 
saluted  as  ruler  of  the  enripire.  This  was  Theodora, 
the  younger  sister  of  Zoe,  an  old  woman  of  seventy, 
who  had  spent  the  best  part  of  her  days  in  a  nunnery. 
She  was  as  sour  and  ascetic  as  her  sister  had  been 
vain  and  amorous  ;  but  she  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  the  worst  of  the  rulers  of  Byzantium,  and  her 
two  years  of  power  were  not  troubled  by  rebellions  or 
vexed  by  foreign  war.  Her  austere  virtues  won  her 
some  respect  from  the  people,  and  the  fact  that  she 
was  the  last  of  her  house,  and  that  with  its  extinction 
the  troubles  of  a  disputed  succession  were  doomed  to 
come  upon  the  empire,  seems  to  have  sobered  her 
subjects,  and  led  them  to  let  the  last  days  of  the 
Basilian  dynasty  pass  away  in  peace. 

Theodora  died  on  the  30th  of  August,  1057,  having 
on  her  death-bed  declared  that  she  adopted  Michael 
Stratioticus  as  her  successor.  Then  commenced  the 
reign  of  trouble,  the  "  third  anarchy  "  in  the  history  of 
the  Byzantine  Empire. 


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XX. 


MANZIKERT. 


(1057-1081.) 


The  moment  that  the  last  of  the  Macedonian 
dynasty  was  gone,  the  elements  of  discord  seemed 
unchained,  and  the  double  scourge  of  civil  war  and 
foreign  invasion  began  to  afflict  the  empire.  In  the 
twenty-four  years  between  1057  and  108 1  were 
pressed  more  disasters  than  had  been  seen  in  any 
other  period  of  East- Roman  history,  save  perhaps  the 
reign  of  Heraclius.  For  now  came  the  second  cutting- 
short  of  the  empire,  the  blow  that  was  destined  to 
shear  away  half  its  strength,  and  leave  it  maimed 
beyond  any  possibility  of  ultimate  recovery. 

Domestic  troubles  were  the  first  inevitable  conse- 
quence of  the  extinction  of  the  Macedonian  dynasty. 
The  aged  Theodora  had  named  as  her  successor  on 
the  throne  Michael  Stratioticus,  a  contemporary  of 
her  own  who  had  been  an  able  soldier  twenty-five 
years  back.  But  Michael  VI.  was  grown  aged  and 
incompetent,  and  the  empire  was  full  of  ambitious 
generals,  who   would    not   tolerate   a  dotard  on  the 


250  MANZIKERT. 

throne.  Before  a  year  had  passed  a  band  of  great 
Asiatic  nobles  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  overturn 
Michael,  and  replace  him  by  Isaac  Comnenus,  the 
chief  of  one  of  the  ancient  Cappadocian  houses,  and 
the  most  popular  general  of  the  East. 

Isaac  Comnenus  and  his  friends  took  arms,  and 
dispossessed  the  aged  Michael  of  his  throne  with  little 
difficulty.  But  a  curse  seemed  to  rest  upon  the 
usurpation  ;  Isaac  was  stricken  down  by  disease  when 
he  had  been  little  more  than  a  year  on  the  throne, 
and  retired  to  a  monastery  to  die.  His  crown  was 
transferred  to  Constantine  Ducas,  another  Cappa- 
docian noble,  who  was  supposed  to  be  second  only  to 
Isaac  in  competence  and  popularity.  Constantine 
reigned  for  seven  troubled  years,  and  disappointed  all 
his  supporters,  for  he  proved  but  a  sorry  administrator. 
His  mind  was  set  on  nothing  but  finance,  and  in  the 
endeavour  to  build  up  again  the  imperial  treasure, 
which  had  been  sorely  wasted  since  the  death  of  Basil 
II.,  he  neglected  all  the  other  departments  of  state. 
To  save  money  he  disbanded  no  inconsiderable 
portion  of  the  army,  and  cut  down  the  pay  of  the  rest. 
This  was  sheer  madness,  when  there  was  impending 
over  the  empire  the  most  terrible  military  danger  that 
had  been  seen  for  four  centuries.  The  safety  of  the 
realm  was  entirely  in  the  hands  of  its  well-paid  and 
well-disciplined  national  army,  and  anything  that 
impaired  the  efficiency  of  the  army  was  fraught  with 
the  deadliest  peril. 

The  Seljouk  Turks  were  now  drawing  near.  Pres- 
sing on  from  the  Oxus  lands,  their  hordes  had  overrun 
Persia  and  extinguished  the  dynasty  of  the  Buhawides. 


THE     COMING    OF   THE   SELJOUKS.  25 1 

In  1050,  they  had  penetrated  to  Bagdad,  and  their 
great  chief,  Togrul  Beg,  had  declared  himself  "defender 
of  the  faith  and  protector  of  the  Caliph."  Armenia 
had  next  been  overrun,  and  those  portions  of  it  which 
had  not  been  annexed  to  the  empire,  and  still  obeyed 
independent  princes,  had  been  conquered  by  1064. 
In  that  year  fell  Ani,  the  ancient  Armenian  capital, 
and  the  bulkwark  which  protected  the  Byzantine 
Empire  from.  Eastern  invasions. 

The  reign  of  Constantine  Ducas  was  troubled  by 
countless  Seljouk  invasions  of  the  Armeniac,  Anatolic, 
and  Cappadocian  themes.  Sometimes  the  invaders 
were  driven  back,  sometimes  they  eluded  the  imperial 
troops  and  escaped  with  their  booty.  But  whether 
successful  or  unsuccessful,  they  displayed  a  reckless 
cruelty,  far  surpassing  anything  that  the  Saracens  had 
ever  shown.  Wherever  they  passed  they  not  merely 
plundered  to  right  and  left,  but  slew  off  the  whole 
population.  Meanwhile,  Constantine  X.,  with  his 
reduced  army,  proved  incompetent  to  hold  them  back  ; 
all  the  more  so  that  his  operations  were  distracted  by 
an  invasion  of  the  Uzes,  a  Tartar  tribe  from  the 
Euxine  shore,  who  had  burst  into  Bulgaria. 

Ducas  died  in  1067,  leaving  the  throne  to  his  son, 
Michael,  a  boy  of  fourteen  years.  The  usual  result 
followed.  To  secure  her  son's  life  and  throne,  the 
Empress-dowager  Eudocia  took  a  new  husband,  and 
made  him  guardian  of  the  young  Michael.  The  new 
Emperor-regent  was  Romanus  Diogenes,  an  Asiatic 
noble,  whose  brilliant  courage  displayed  in  the  Seljouk 
wars  had  dazzled  the  world,  and  caused  it  to  forget 
that  caution  and  ability  are  far  more  regal  virtues  than 


252  .  MANZIKERT. 

headlong  valour,  Romanus  took  in  hand  with  the 
greatest  vigour  the  task  of  repelling  the  Turks,  which 
his  predecessor  had  so  grievously  neglected.  He  led 
into  the  field  every  man  that  could  be  collected  from 
the  European  or  Asiatic  themes,  and  for  three  succes- 
sive years  was  incessantly  marching  and  counter- 
marching in  Armenia,  Cappadocia,  and  Syria,  in  the 
endeavour  to  hunt  down  the  marauding  bands  of  the 
Seljouks. 

The  operations  of  Romanus  were  not  entirely  un- 
successful. Alp  Arslan,  the  Sultan  of  the  Seljouks, 
contented  himself  at  first  with  dispersing  his  hordes 
in  scattered  bands,  and  attacking  many  points  of  the 
frontier  at  once.  Flence  the  Emperor  was  not  un- 
frequently  able  to  catch  and  slay  off  one  of  the  minor 
divisions  of  the  Turkish  army.  But  some  of  them 
always  contrived  to  elude  him  ;  his  heavy  cavalry 
could  not  come  up  with  the  light  Seljouk  horse  bow- 
men, who  generally  escaped  and  rode  back  home  by 
a  long  detour,  burning  and  murdering  as  they  went. 
Cappadocia  was  already  desolated  from  end  to  end, 
and  the  Turkish  raids  had  reached  as  far  as  Amorium, 
in  Phrygia. 

In  107 1  came  the  final  disaster.  In  pursuing  the 
Seljouk  plunderers,  Romanus  was  drawn  far  eastward, 
to  Manzikert,  on  the  Armenian  frontier.  There  he 
found  himself  confronted,  not  by  a  flying  foe,  but  by 
the  whole  force  of  the  Seljouk  sultanate,  with  Alp 
Arslan  himself  at  its  head.  Though  his  army  was 
harassed  by  long  marches,  and  though  two  large 
divisions  were  absent,  the  Emperor  was  eager  to  fight 
The  Turks  had  never  before  offered  him  a  fair  field, 


OUR   LORD    BLESSING   ROMAN  US   DIOGENES   AND    EUDOCIA. 

{Ff'ojn  an  Ivory  at  Paris.) 
{From  'TArtByzaniin"    Par  Charles  Bayet.    Paris,  Quantin,  1883.) 


254  MANZIKERT. 

and  he  relied  implicitly  on  the  power  of  his  cuirassiers 
to  ride  down  any  number,  however  great,  of  the  light 
Turkish  horse. 

The  decisive  battle  of  Manzikert,  which  it  is  not  too 
much  to  call  the  turning-point  of  the  whole  course  of 
Byzantine  history,  was  fought  in  the  early  summer  of 
107 1.  For  a  long  day  the  Byzantine  horsemen 
continued  to  roll  back  and  break  through  the  lines  of 
Turkish  horse  bowmen.  But  fresh  hordes  kept  coming 
on,  and  in  the  evening  the  fight  was  still  undecided. 
As  the  night  was  approaching,  Romanus  prepared  to 
draw  his  troops  back  to  the  camp,  but  an  unhappy 
misconception  of  orders  broke  up  the  line,  and  the 
Seljouks  edged  in  between  the  two  halves  of  the  army. 
Either  from  treachery  or  cowardice  Andronicus  Ducas, 
the  officer  who  commanded  the  reserve,  led  his  men 
off  without  fighting.  The  Emperor's  division  was 
beset  on  all  sides  by  the  enemy,  and  broke  up  in  the 
dusk.  Romanus  himself  was  wounded,  thrown  from 
his  horse,  and  made  prisoner.  The  greater  part  of  his 
men  were  cut  to  pieces. 

Alp  Arslan  showed  himself  more  forbearing  to  his 
prison '^r  than  might  have  been  expected.  It  is  true 
that  Romanus  was  led  after  his  capture  to  the  tent  of 
the  Sultan,  and  laid  prostrate  before  him,  that,  after 
the  Turkish  custom,  the  conqueror  might  place  his 
foot  on  the  neck  of  his  vanquished  foe.  But  after 
this  humiliating  ceremony  the  Emperor  was  treated 
with  kindness,  and  allowed  after  some  months  to 
ransom  himself  and  return  home.  He  would  have 
fared  better,  however,  if  he  had  remained  the  prisoner 
of  the  Turk.     During  his  captivity  the   conduct  of 


MISFORTUNES   OF   ROM  AN  US   DIOGENES,       255 

affairs  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  John  Ducas,  uncle 
of  the  young  emperor  Michael.  The  unscrupulous 
regent    was    determined   that    Romanus    should    not 


NICEPHORUS    BOTANIATES    SITTING    IN    STATE. 

{From  a  contemporary  MS.) 
{From  'T  Ari  Byzantin"    Far  Charles  Bay et.    Paris  ^  Quantin,  1883.) 

supersede  him  and  mount  the  throne  again.     When 
the  released  captive  reappeared,  John  had  him  seized 


256  MANZIKERT. 

and  blinded.     The  cruel  work  was  so  roughly  done 
that  the  unfortunate  Romanus  died  a  few  days  later. 

After  this  fearful  disaster  Asia  Minor  was  lost ; 
there  was  no  chief  to  take  the  place  of  Romanus,  and 
the  Seljouk  hordes  spread  westward  almost  unop- 
posed. The  next  ten  years  were  a  time  of  chaos  and 
disaster.  While  the  Seljouks  were  carving  their  way 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  vitals  of  the  empire,  the 
wrecks  of  the  Byzantine  army  were  employed  not  in 
resisting  them,  but  in  carrying  on  a  desperate  series  of 
civil  wars.  After  the  death  of  Romanus,  every  general 
in  the  empire  seemed  to  think  that  the  time  had  come 
for  him  to  assume  the  purple  buskins  and  proclaim 
himself  emperor.  History  records  the  names  of  no 
less  than  six  pretenders  to  the  throne  during  the  next 
nine  years,  besides  several  rebels  who  took  up  arms 
without  assuming  the  imperial  title.  The  young 
emperor,  Michael  Ducas,  proved,  when  he  came  of 
age,  to  be  a  vicious  nonentity  ;  he  is  remembered  in 
Byzantine  history  only  by  his  nickname  of  Para- 
pinakes,  the  "  peck-filcher,"  given  him  because  in  a 
year  of  famine  he  sold  the  measure  of  wheat  to  his 
subjects  a  fourth  short  of  its  proper  contents.  His 
name  and  that  of  Nicephorus  Botaniates,  the  rebel  who 
overthrew  him,  cover  in  the  list  of  emperors  a  space 
of  ten  years  that  would  better  be  represented  by  a 
blank  ;  for  the  authority  of  the  nominal  ruler  scarcely 
extended  beyond  the  walls  of  the  capital,  and  the 
themes  that  were  not  overrun  by  the  Turks  were  in 
the  hands  of  governors  who  each  did  what  was  right 
in  his  own  eyes.  At  last  a  man  of  ability  worked 
himself    up    to    the    surface.       This    was    Alexius 


CHARACTER   OF  ALEXIUS   COMNENUS.  257 

Comnenus,  nephew  of  the  emperor  Isaac  Comnenus, 
whose  short  reign  we  related  in  the  opening  paragraph 
of  this  chapter. 

Alexius  was  a  man  of  courage  and  ability,  but  he 
displayed  one  of  the  worst  types  of  Byzantine  cha- 
racter. Indeed,  he  was  the  first  emperor  to  whom  the 
epithet  *'  Byzantine,"  in  its  common  and  opprobrious 
sense  could  be  applied.  He  was  the  most  accomplished 
liar  of  his  age,  and,  while  winning  and  defending 
the  imperial  throne,  committed  enough  acts  of  mean 
treachery,  and  swore  enough  false  oaths  to  startle 
even  the  courtiers  of  Constantinople.  He  could  fight 
when  necessary,  but  he  preferred  to  win  by  treason 
and  perjury.  Yet  as  a  ruler  he  had  many  virtues, 
and  it  will  always  be  remembered  to  his  credit  that 
he  dragged  the  empire  out  of  the  deepest  slough  of 
degradation  and  ruin  that  it  had  ever  sunk  into. 
Though  false,  he  was  not  cruel,  and  seven  ex-emperors 
and  usurpers,  living  unharmed  in  Constantinople 
under  his  sceptre,  bore  witness  to  the  mildness  of  his 
rule.  The  tale  of  his  reign  sufficiently  bears  witness 
to  the  strange  mixture  of  moral  obliquity  and 
practical  ability  in  his  character. 


XXI. 

THE  COMNENI  AND  THE  CRUSADES. 

Alexius  Comnenus  found  himself,  in  1081, 
placed  in  a  position  almost  as  difficult  and  perilous 
as  that  which  Leo  the  Isaurian  faced  in  716.  Like 
Leo,  he  was  a  usurper  without  prestige  or  hereditary 
claims,  seated  on  an  unsteady  throne,  and  forced  to 
face  imminent  danger  from  the  Moslem  enemy  with- 
out, and  from  rival  adventurers  within.  It  may  be 
added  that  the  Isaurian,  grievously  threatened  as  he 
was  by  the  enemy  from  the  East,  had  no  peril  im- 
pending from  the  West.  Alexius  had  to  face  at  one 
and  the  same  time  the  assault  of  the  Seljouks  on 
Asia  Minor,  and  the  attack  of  a  new  and  formidable 
foe  in  his  western  provinces.  We  have  already 
mentioned  the  manner  in  which  the  Byzantine 
dominion  in  Italy  had  come  to  an  end.  Now  the 
same  Norman  adventurers  who  had  stripped  the 
empire  of  Calabria  and  Apulia  were  preparing  to 
cross  the  straits  of  Otranto,  and  seek  out  the  Emperor 
in  the  central  provinces  of  his  realm.  The  forces  of 
the  Italian  and   Sicilian  Normans  were  united  under 


NORMAN    WAR.  259 

their  great  chief  Robert  Guiscard,  the  hardy  and  un- 
scrupulous Duke  of  Apulia.  Just  ten  years  before  he 
had  captured  Bari,  the  last  Byzantine  fortress  on  his 
own  side  of  the  straits  ;  now  he  was  resolved  to  take 
advantage  of  the  anarchy  which  had  prevailed  in  the 
empire  ever  since  the  day  of  Manzikert,  and  to  build 
up  new  Norman  principalities  to  the  east  of  the 
Adriatic.  There  seemed  to  be  nothing  presumptuous 
in  the  scheme  to  those  who  remembered  how  a  few 
hundred  Norman  adventurers  had  conquered  all 
Southern  Italy  and  Sicily,  and  swelled  into  a  victo- 
rious army  fifty  thousand  strong.  Nor  could  the 
invaders  fail  to  remember  how,  but  fifteen  years 
before,  another  Norman  duke  had  crossed  another 
strait  in  the  far  West,  and  won  by  his  strong  right 
hand  the  great  kingdom  of  England.  Alexius  Com- 
nenus  sat  like  Harold  Godwinson  on  a  lately-acquired 
and  unsteady  throne,  and  Duke  Robert  thought  to 
deal  with  him  much  as  Duke  William  had  dealt  with 
the  Englishman. 

In  June,  1081,  the  Normans  landed,  thirty  thousand 
strong,  and  laid  siege  to  Durazzo,  the  niaritime 
fortress  that  guarded  the  Epirot  coast.  The  Emperor 
at  once  flew  to  its  succour.  Always  active  hopeful 
and  versatile,  he  trusted  that  he  might  be  able  to  beat 
off  the  new  invaders,  whose  military  worth  he  was  far 
from  appreciating  at  its  true  value.  He  patched  up 
a  hasty  pacification  with  Suleiman,  Sultan  of  the 
Seljouks,  by  surrendering  to  him  all  the  territory  of 
which  the  Turk  was  in  actual  possession,  a  tract 
which  now  extended  as  far  as  the  waters  of  the 
Propontis,  and  actually  included  the  city  of  Nicaea, 


26o  THE   COMMENT  AND   THE   CRUSADES. 

close  to  the  Bithynian  shore,  and  only  seventy  miles 
from  Constantinople. 

The  army  with  which  Alexius  had  to  face  the 
Normans  was  the  mere  wreck  and  shadow  of  that 
which  Romanus  IV.  had  led  against  the  Turks  ten 
years  before.  The  military  organization  of  the  empire 
had  gone  to  pieces,  and  we  no  longer  hear  of  the  old 
"  Themes "  of  heavy  cavalry  which  had  formed  its 
backbone.  The  new  army  contained  quite  a  small 
proportion  of  national  troops.  Its  core  was  the  imperial 
guard  of  Varangians — the  Russian,  Danish,  and 
English  mercenaries,  whose  courage  had  won  the 
confidence  of  so  many  emperors.  With  them  marched 
many  Turkish,  Prankish,  Servian,  and  South-Slavonic 
auxiliaries  ;  the  native  element  comprised  the  regu- 
lars of  the  three  provinces  of  Thrace,  Macedonia,  and 
Thessaly,  all  that  now  remained  in  Alexius'  hands  of 
the  ancient  East-Roman  realm. 

Alexius  brought  Robert  Guiscard  to  battle  in  front 
of  Durazzo,  and  suffered  a  crushing  defeat  at  his 
hands.  The  Emperor's  bad  tactics  were  the  main 
cause  of  his  failure  :  his  army  came  upon  the  ground  in 
successive  detachments,  and  the  van  was  cut  to  pieces 
before  the  main  body  had  reached  the  field.  The 
brunt  of  the  battle  was  borne  by  the  Varangians : 
carried  away  by  their  fiery  courage,  they  charged  the 
Normans  before  the  rest  of  Alexius's  troops  had 
formed  their  line  of  battle.  Rushing  on  the  wing  of 
Robert's  army,  commanded  by  the  Count  of  Bari, 
they  drove  it  horse  and  foot  into  the  sea.  Their 
success,  however,  disordered  their  ranks,  and  the 
Norman   duke   was   ^ble    to    turn   his   whole  force 


BATTLE   OF  DURAZZO.  2.bl 

against  them  ere  the  Emperor  was  near  enough  to 
give  them  aid.  A  fierce  cavalry  charge  cut  off  the 
greater  part  of  the  Varangians  ;  the  rest  collected  on 
a  mound  by  the  sea-shore,  and  for  some  time  beat  off 
the  Normans  with  their  axes,  as  King  Harold's  men 
had  done  at  Senlac  on  the  last  occasion  when  English 
and  Norman  had  met.  But  Robert  shot  them  down 
with  his  archers,  and  then  sent  more  cavalry  against 
them.  They  fell,  save  a  small  remnant  who  defended 
themselves  in  a  ruined  chapel,  which  Guiscard  had 
finally  to  burn  before  he  could  make  an  end  of  its 
obstinate  defenders. 

The  rest  of  Alexius's  army  only  came  into  action 
when  the  Varangians  had  been  destroyed.  It  was 
cowed  by  the  loss  of  its  best  corps,  fought  badly,  and 
fled  in  haste.  Alexius  himself,  who  lingered  last 
upon  the  field,  was  surrounded,  and  only  escaped  by 
the  speed  of  his  horse  and  the  strength  of  his  sword- 
arm.  Durazzo  fell,  and  in  the  next  year  the  Nor- 
mans overran  all  Epirus  and  descended  into  Thessaly. 
Alexius  risked  two  more  engagements  with  them, 
but  his  inexperienced  troops  were  defeated  in  both. 
Disaster  taught  him  to  avoid  pitched  battles,  and  at 
last,  in  1083,  after  a  more  cautious  campaign,  his 
patience  was  rewarded  by  the  dispersion  of  the 
Norman  army.  Catching  it  while  divided,  the 
Emperor  inflicted  on  it  a  severe  defeat  at  Larissa, 
and  forced  it  back  into  Epirus.  After  this  the  war 
slackened,  and  when  Robert  Guiscard  died  in  1085 
the  Norman  danger  passed  away. 

Thus  one  foe  was  removed,  but  Alexius  was  not 
destined  to  win  peace.     Constant  rebellions  at  home, 


262  THE    COMNENI   AND    THE    CRUSADES. 

and  wars  with  the  Patzinaks,  the  Slavs,  and  the 
Seljouks  filled  the  next  ten  years.  Alexius,  however, 
was  never  discouraged :  "  eking  out  the  lion's  skin 
with  the  fox's  hide,"  he  fought  and  intrigued,  lied  and 
negotiated,  and  at  the  end  of  the  time  had  held  his 
own  and  lost  no  more  territory,  while  his  throne  was 
growing  more  secure. 

But  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  his  reign  a  new  cloud 
began  to  arise  in  the  west,  which  was  destined  to 
exercise  unsuspected  influence,  both  for  good  and  evil, 
on  the  empire.  The  Crusades  were  on  the  eve  of  their 
commencement.  Ever  since  the  Seljouks  had  taken 
Jerusalem  in  1075,  four  years  after  Manzikert,  the 
western  pilgrims  to  the  Holy  Land  had  been  suffer- 
ing grievous  things  at  the  hands  of  the  barbarians. 
But  all  the  wrath  that  their  ill-treatment  provoked 
would  have  been  fruitless,  if  the  way  to  Syria  had 
not  been  opened  of  late  to  the  nations  of  Western 
Christendom.  Two  series  of  events  had  made  free 
communication  between  East  and  West  possible  in  the 
end  of  the  eleventh  century,  in  a  measure  which  had 
never  before  been  seen. 

The  first  of  these  was  the  conversion  of  Hungary, 
begun  by  St.  Stephen  in  1000,  and  completed  about 
1050.  For  the  future  there  lay  between  the  Byzan- 
tine Empire  and  Germany  not  a  barbarous  pagan 
state,  but  a  semi-civilized  Christian  kingdom,  which 
had  taken  its  place  among  the  other  nations  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  faith.  Communication  down  the 
Danube,  between  Vienna  and  the  Byzantine  outposts 
in  Bulgaria,  became  for  the  first  time  possible,  and  ere 
long  the  route  grew  popular.      The  second  pheno- 


THE   CRUSADES,  263 

menon  which  made  the  Crusades  possible  was  the 
destruction  of  the  Saracen  naval  power  in  the  Central 
Mediterranean.  This  was  carried  out  first  by  the 
Pisans  and  Genoese,  whose  fleets  conquered  Corsica 
and  Sardinia  from  the  Moslems,  and  then  by  the 
Normans,  whose  occupation  of  Sicily  made  the 
voyage  from  Marseilles  and  Genoa  to  the  East  safe 
and  sure.  Four  new  maritime  powers — the  Genoese, 
Pisans,  and  Normans  in  the  open  sea,  and  the 
Venetians  in  the  Adriatic — had  developed  themselves 
into  importance,  and  now  their  fleets  swept  the 
waters  where  no  Christian  war-galleys  save  those  of 
Byzantium  had  ever  been  seen  before. 

It  was  the  fact  that  free  access  to  the  East  was  now 
to  be  gained,  both  by  land  and  sea,  as  it  had  never 
been  before,  that  made  the  Crusades  feasible.  Of  the 
preaching  of  Peter  the  Hermit  and  the  efforts  of 
Pope  Urban  we  need  not  speak.  Suffice  it  to  say, 
that  in  1095  news  came  to  the  Emperor  Alexius  that 
the  nations  of  the  West  were  mustering  by  myriads, 
and  directing  their  march  towards  his  frontiers,  with 
the  expressed  intention  of  driving  the  Moslems  from 
Palestine.  The  Emperor  had  little  confidence  in  the 
purity  of  the  zeal  of  the  Crusaders  ;  his  wily  mind 
could  not  comprehend  their  enthusiasm,  and  he 
dreaded  that  some  unforeseen  circumstance  might 
turn  their  arms  against  himself  When  the  hordes 
of  armed  Frankish  pilgrims  began  to  arrive,  his  fears 
were  justified :  the  new-comers  pillaged  his  country 
right  and  left  upon  their  way,  and  were  drawn  into 
many  bloody  fights  with  the  peasantry  and  the  im- 
perial   garrisons,   which    might  have  ended  in  open 


264  THE   COMNENI  AND    THE    CRUSADES. 

war.  But  Alexius  set  himself  to  work  to  smooth 
matters  down  ;  all  his  tact  and  patience  were  needed, 
and  there  was  ample  scope  for  his  talent  for  intrigue 
and  insincere  diplomacy.  He  had  resolved  to  induce 
the  crusading  chiefs  to  do  him  homage,  and  to  sweat 
to  restore  to  him  all  the  old  dominions  of  the  empire 
which  they  might  reconquer  from  the  Turks.  After 
long  and  tedious  negotiations  he  had  his  way  :  the 
leaders  of  the  Crusade,  from  Godfrey  of  Bouillon  and 
Hugh  of  Vermandois  down  to  the  smallest  barons, 
were  induced  to  swear  him  allegiance.  Some  he 
flattered,  others  he  bribed,  others  he  strove  to  frighten 
into  compliance.  The  pages  of  the  history  written 
by  his  daughter,  Anna  Comnena,  who  regarded  his 
powers  of  cajolery  with  greater  respect  than  any  other 
part  of  his  character,  are  full  of  tales  of  the  ingenious 
shifts  by  which  he  brought  the  stupid  and  arrogant 
Franks  to  reason.  At  length  they  went  on  their  way, 
with  Alexius's  gold  in  their  pockets,  and  encouraged 
by  his  promise  that  he  would  aid  them  with  his  troops, 
continue  to  supply  them  with  provisions,  and  never 
abandon  them  till  the  Holy  City  was  reconquered. 

In  the  spring  of  1097  the  Crusaders  began  to  cross 
the  Bosphorus,  and  in  two  marches  found  themselves 
within  Turkish  territory.  They  at  once  laid  siege  to 
Nicaea,  the  frontier  fortress  of  the  Seljouk  Sultan. 
Encompassed  by  so  great  a  host  the  Turkish  garrison 
soon  lost  heart  and  surrendered,  not  to  the  Franks, 
but  to  Alexius,  whose  troops  they  secretly  admitted 
within  the  walls.  This  nearly  led  to  strife  between 
the  Emperor  and  the  Crusaders,  who  had  been 
reckoning  on  the  plunder  of  the  town  ;  but  Alexius 


CONQUESTS   OF  ALEXIUS,  265 

appeased  them  with  further  stores  of  money,  and  the 
pilgrim  host  rolled  forward  once  more  into  the  interior 
of  Asia  Minor. 

In  1097  the  Crusaders  forced  their  way  through 
Phrygia  and  Cappadocia,  beating  back  the  Seljouks 
at  every  encounter,  till  they  reached  North  Syria, 
where  they  laid  siege  to  Antioch.  Alexius  had  un- 
dertaken to  help  them  in  their  campaign,  but  he  was 
set  on  playing  an  easier  game.  When  they  were 
crushing  the  Turks  he  followed  in  their  rear  at  a  safe 
distance,  like  the  jackal  behind  the  lion,  picking  up 
the  spoil  which  they  left.  While  the  Sultan  was 
engaged  with  them  Alexius  despoiled  him  of  Smyrna, 
Ephesus,  and  Sardis,  reconquering  Western  Asia 
Minor  almost  without  a  blow,  since  the  Seljouk  hordes 
were  drawn  away  eastward.  It  was  the  same  in  the 
next  year  ;  when  the  Crusaders  were  fighting  hard 
round  Antioch  against  the  princes  of  Mesopotamia, 
and  sent  to  ask  for  instant  help,  Alexius  despatched 
no  troops  to  Syria,  but  gathered  in  a  number  of 
Lydian  and  Phrygian  fortresses  which  lay  nearer  to 
his  hand.  Hence  there  resulted  a  bitter  quarrel 
between  the  Emperor  and  the  Franks,  for  since  he 
gave  them  no  help  they  refused  to  hand  over  to  him 
Antioch  and  their  other  Syrian  conquests.  Each 
party,  in  fact,  broke  the  compact  signed  at  Constan- 
tinople, and  accused  the  other  of  treachery.  Hence 
it  resulted  that  the  Crusade  ended  not  in  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  Byzantine  power  in  Syria,  but  in 
the  foundation  of  new  Frankish  states,  the  princi- 
palities of  Edessa,  Antioch,  and  Tripoli,  and  the  more 
important  kingdom  of  Jerusalem. 


BYZANllNli    IVORV-CARVINC.    OF    THE   TWELFTH    CENTIRV. 

{Fioin  the  British  JSIuscuin.) 
{From  "-LArt  Byzantiny   Par  Charles  Bay et.    Paris,  Qitantiit,  1883.) 


SECOND   NORMAN    WAR.  267 

That  he  did  not  recover  Syria  was  no  real  loss  to 
Alexius  ;  he  would  not  have  been  strong  enough  to 
hold  it,  had  it  been  handed  over  to  him.  The  actual 
profit  which  he  made  by  the  Crusade  was  enough  to 
content  him  :  the  Franks  had  rolled  back  the  Turkish 
frontier  in  Asia  not  less  than  two  hundred  miles  : 
instead  of  the  Seljouk  lying  at  Nicaea,  he  was  now 
chased  back  behind  the  Bithynian  hills,  and  the 
empire  had  recovered  all  Lydia  and  Caria  with 
much  of  the  Phrygian  inland.  The  Seljouks  were 
hard  hit,  and  for  well-nigh  a  century  were  reduced  to 
fight  on  the  defensive. 

Owing,  then,  to  the  fearful  blow  inflicted  by  the 
Crusades  on  the  Moslem  powers  of  Asia  Minor  and 
Syria,  the  later  years  of  Alexius  were  free  from  the 
danger  which  had  overshadowed  the  beginning  of  his 
reign.  He  was  able,  between  iioo  and  11 18,  to 
strengthen  his  position  at  home  and  abroad  ;  the 
constant  rebellions  which  had  vexed  his  early  years 
ceased,  and  when  the  Normans,  under  Bohemund  of 
Tarentum,  tried  to  repeat,  in  1107,  the  feats  which 
Robert  Guiscard  had  accomplished  in  1082,  they  were 
beaten  off  with  ease,  and  forced  to  conclude  a 
disadvantageous  peace. 

The  reign  of  Alexius  might  have  been  counted  a 
period  of  success  and  prosperity  if  it  had  not  been  for 
two  considerations.  The  first  was  the  rapid  decline 
of  Constantinople  as  a  commercial  centre,  which  was 
brought  about  by  the  Crusades.  When  the  Genoese 
and  Venetians  succeeded  in  establishing  themselves 
in  the  seaports  of  Syria,  they  began  to  visit  Constan- 
tinople   far   less   than    before.     It   paid   them  much 


268  THE   COM  N  EN  I   AND    THE   CRUSADES. 

better  to  conduct  their  business  at  Acre  or  Tyre  than 
on  the  Bosphorus.  The  king  of  Jerusalem,  the 
weakest  of  feudal  sovereigns,  could  be  more  easily 
bullied  and  defrauded  than  the  powerful  ruler  of 
Constantinople.  In  his  own  seaports  he  possessed 
hardly  a  shadow  of  authority  :  the  Italians  traded 
there  on  such  conditions  as  they  chose.  Hence  the 
commerce  of  the  West  with  Persia,  Egypt,  Syria,  and 
India,  ceased  to  pass  through  the  Bosphorus.  Genoa 
and  Venice  became  the  marts  at  which  France,  Italy, 
and  Germany,  sought  their  Eastern  goods.  It  is 
probable  that  the  trade  of  Constantinople  fell  off  by 
a  third  or  even  a  half  in  the  fifty  years  that  followed 
the  first  Crusade.  The  effect  of  this  decline  on  the 
coffers  of  the  state  was  deplorable,  for  it  was  ulti- 
mately on  its  commercial  wealth  that  the  Byzantine 
state  based  its  prosperity.  All  through  the  reigns  of 
Alexius  and  his  two  successors  the  complaints  about 
the  rapid  fall  in  the  imperial  revenue  grew  more  and 
more  noticeable. 

This  dangerous  decay  in  the  finances  of  the  empire 
was  rendered  still  more  fatal  by  the  political  devices 
of  Alexius,  who  began  to  bestow  excessive  commercial 
privileges  ta the  Italian  republics,  in  return  for  their 
aid  in  war.  This  system  commenced  in  io8i,  when 
the  Emperor,  then  in  the  full  stress  of  his  first  Nor- 
man war,  granted  the  Venetians  the  free  access  to 
most  of  the  ports  of  his  empire  without  the  payment 
of  any  customs  dues.  To  give  to  foreigners  a  boon 
denied  to  his  own  subjects  was  the  height  of  eco- 
nomic lunacy  ;  the  native  merchants  complained  that 
the  Venetians  were  enabled  to  undersell  them  in  every 


REIGN  OF  yOHN   COMNENUS,  269 

market,  owing  to  this  exemption  from  import  and 
export  duties.  Matters  were  made  yet  worse  in  nil, 
when  Alexius  bestowed  a  similar,  though  less  exten- 
sive, grant  of  immunities  on  the  Pisans. 

When  John  IL,  the  son  of  Alexius,  succeeded  in 
1 1 18  to  the  empire  which  his  father  had  saved,  the 
fabric  was  less  strong  than  it  appeared  to  the  outward 
eye.  Territorial  extension  seemed  to  imply  increased 
strength,  and  the  rapid  falling  off  in  the  financial 
resources  of  the  realm  attracted  little  attention.  John 
however  was  one  of  those  prudent  and  economical 
princes  who  stave  off  for  years  the  inevitable  day  of 
distress.  Of  all  the  rulers  who  ever  sat  upon  the 
Byzantine  throne,  he  is  the  only  one  of  whom  no 
detractor  has  ever  said  an  evil  word.  When  we  re- 
member that  he  was  his  father's  son ,  it  is  astonishing 
to  find  that  his  honesty  and  good  faith  were  no  less 
notable  than  his  courage  and  generosity.  His  sub- 
jects named  him  "  John  the  Good,"  and  their  appre- 
ciation of  his  virtues  was  sufficiently  marked  by  the 
fact  that  no  single  rebellion  ^  marred  the  internal 
peace  of  his  long  reign,      [i  1 1 8-1 143.] 

John  was  a  good  soldier,  and  during  his  rule  the 
frontier  of  the  empire  in  Asia  continued  to  advance, 
at  the  expense  of  the  Turks.  But  his  strategy  would 
seem  to  have  been  at  fault  since  he  preferred  to 
reconquer  the  coast  districts  of  Northern  and  Southern 
Asia  Minor,  rather  than  to  strike  at  the  heart  of  the 
Seljouk  power  on  the  central  table-land.     When  he 

^  There  were  two  palace  intrigues  a^^ainst  him,  both  headed  by  mem- 
bers of  his  own  family.  Neither  of  them  won  any  support  from  people 
or  army. 


270  THE    COMNENI   AND    THE   CRUSADES. 

had  reduced  all  Cilicia,  Pisidia,  and  Pontus,  his 
dominions  became  a  narrow  fringe  of  coast,  surround- 
ing on  three  sides  the  realm  of  the  Sultan,  who  still 
retained  all  the  Cappadocian  and  Lycaonian  plateau. 
It  should  then  have  been  John's  task  to  finish  the 
reconquest  of  Asia  Minor,  but  he  preferred  to  plunge 
into  Syria,  where  he  forced  the  Frank  prince  of 
Antioch  and  the  Turkish  Emir  of  Aleppo  to  pay  him 
tribute,  but  left  no  permanent  monument  of  his  con- 
quests.    He  was  preparing  a  formidable  expedition 


HUNTERS 

{From  a  Byzantine  MS.) 
{From  '^VArt  Byzantin.'''    Par  Charles  Bayet     Paris,  Quantin,  1883.) 

against  the  Franks  of  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem, 
when  he  perished  by  accident  while  on  a  hunting 
expedition.! 

John  the  Good  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Manuel, 
whose  strength  and  weakness  combined  to  give  a 
deathblow  to  the  empire.  Manuel  was  a  mere  knight- 
errant,  who  loved  fighting  for  fighting's  sake,  and 
allowed  his  passion  for  excitement  and  adventure  to 

^  He  pierced  himself  l)y  misadventure  with  one  of  his  own  poisoned 
arrows,  and  died  of  the  wound. 


WARS    OF   MANUEL   I.  27 1 

be  his  only  guide.  Plis  whole  reign  was  one  long 
series  of  wars,  entered  into  and  abandoned  with  equal 
levity.  Yet  for  the  most  part  they  were  successful 
w^ars,  for  Manuel  was  a  good  cavalry  officer  if  he  was 
but  a  reckless  statesman,  and  his  fiery  courage  and 
untiring  energy  made  him  the  idol  of  his  troops.  At 
the  head  of  the  veteran  squadrons  of  mercenary  horse- 
men that  formed  the  backbone  of  his  army,  he  swept 
off  the  field  every  enemy  that  ever  dared  to  face  him. 
He  overran  Servia,  invaded  Hungary,  to  whose  king 
he  dictated  terms  of  peace,  and  beat  off  with  success 
an  invasion  of  Greece  by  the  Normans  of  Sicily.  His 
most  desperate  struggle,  however,  was  a  naval  war 
with  Venice,  in  which  his  fleet  was  successful  enough, 
and  drove  the  Doge  and  his  galleys  out  of  the 
iEgean.  But  the  damage  done  to  the  trade  of  Con- 
stantinople by  the  Venetian  privateers,  who  swarmed 
in  the  Levant  after  their  m.ain  fleet  had  been  chased 
away,  was  so  appalling  that  the  Emperor  concluded 
peace  in  1 174,  restoring  to  the  enemy  all  the 
disastrous  commercial  privileges  which  his  grand- 
father Alexius  had  granted  them  eighty  years  before. 
The  main  fault  of  Manuel's  w^ars  was  that  they 
were  conducted  in  the  most  reckless  disregard  of  all 
financial  considerations.  With  a  realm  which  was 
slow^ly  growing  poorer,  and  with  a  constantly  dwind- 
ling revenue,  he  persisted  in  piling  war  on  war,  and 
on  dev^oting  every  bezant  that  could  be  screwed  out 
of  his  subjects  to  the  support  of  the  army  alone.  The 
civil  service  fell  into  grave  disorder,  the  administra- 
tion of  justice  was  impaired,  roads  and  bridges  went 
to  decay,  docks  and  harbours  were  neglected,  while 


272  THE   COM  N  EN  I   AND    THE    CRUSADES. 

the  money  which  should  have  supported  them  was 
wasted  on  unprofitable  expeditions  to  Egypt,  Syria, 
or  Italy.  So  long  as  the  ranks  of  his  mercenaries 
were  full  and  their  pay  forthcoming,  the  Emperor 
cared  not  how  his  realm  might  fare. 

Of  all  Manuel's  wars  only  one  went  ill,  but  that 
was  the  most  important  of  them  all,  the  one  necessary 
struggle  to  which  he  should  have  devoted  all  his 
energies.  This  was  the  contest  with  the  Seljouks, 
which  ended  in  1 176  b}^  a  disastrous  defeat  at  Myrio- 
kephalon  in  Phrygia,  brought  about  by  the  ine.x- 
cusable  carelessness  of  Manuel  himself,  who  allowed 
his  army  to  be  caught  in  a  defile  from  which  there  was 
no  exit,  and  routed  piecemeal  by  an  enemy  who  could 
have  made  no  stand  on  the  open  plains.  Manuel 
then  made  peace,  and  left  the  Seljouks  alone  for  the 
rest  of  his  reign. 

In  1 180  Manuel  died,  and  with  him  died  the  good 
fortune  of  the  House  of  Comnenus.  His  son  and 
heir,  Alexius,  was  a  boy  of  thirteen,  and  the  inevitable 
contest  for  the  regency,  which  always  accompanied 
a  minority,  ensued.  After  two  troubled  years  Andro- 
nicus  Comnenus,  a  first  cousin  of  the  Emperor 
Manuel,  was  proclaimed  Caesar,  and  took  over  the 
guardianship  of  the  young  Alexius.  Andronicus  was 
an  unscrupulous  ruffian,  whose  past  life  should  have 
been  sufficient  warning  against  putting  any  trust  in 
his  professions.  He  had  once  attempted  to  assassi- 
nate Manuel,  and  twice  deserted  to  the  Turks.  But 
he  was  a  consummate  hypocrite,  and  won  his  way 
to  the  throne  by  professions  of  piety  and  austere 
virtue.     No   sooner   was   he   seated    by   the   side  of 


FALL   OF   ANDRONICUS   1.  273 

Alexius  II.,  and  felt  himself  secure,  than  he  seized 
and  strangled  his  young  relative  [1183]. 

But,  like  our  own  Richard  III.,  Andronicus  found 
that  the  moment  of  his  accession  to  sole  power  was 
the  moment  of  the  commencement  of  his  troubles. 
Rebels  rose  in  arms  all  over  the  empire  to  avenge  the 
murdered  Alexius,  and  the  Normans  of  Sicily  seized 
the  opportunity  of  invading  Macedonia.  Conspiracies 
were  rife  in  the  capital,  and  the  executions  which 
followed  their  detection  were  so  numerous  and  bloody 
that  a  perfect  reign  of  terror  set  in.  The  Emperor 
plunged  into  the  most  reckless  cruelty,  till  men  almost 
began  to  believe  that  his  mind  was  affected.  Ere 
long  the  end  came.  An  inoffensive  nobleman  named 
Isaac  Angelus,  being  accused  of  treason,  was  arrested 
at  his  own  door  by  the  emissaries  of  the  tyrant. 
Instead  of  surrendering  himself,  Isaac  drew  his  sword 
and  cut  down  the  official  who  laid  hands  on  him.  A 
mob  came  to  his  aid,  and  met  no  immediate  opposi- 
tion, for  Andronicus  was  absent  from  the  capital. 
The  mob  swelled  into  a  multitude,  the  guards  would 
not  fight,  and  when  the  Emperor  returned  in  haste, 
he  was  seized  and  torn  to  pieces  without  a  sword 
being  drawn  in  his  cause.  Isaac  Angelus  reigned  in 
his  stead. 


XXII. 

THE  LATIN   CONQUEST  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE. 

The  state  which  had  been  drained  of  its  resources 
by  the  energetic  but  wasteful  Manuel,  and  disorganized 
by  the  rash  and  wicked  Andronicus,  now  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  two  most  feeble  and  despicable 
creatures  who  ever  sat  upon  the  imperial  throne — 
the  brothers  Isaac  and  Alexius  Angelus,  whose  reigns 
cover  the  years  1 185-1204. 

Among  all  the  periods  which  we  have  hitherto 
described  in  the  tale  of  the  East-Roman  Empire, 
that  covered  by  the  reign  of  the  two  wretched  Angeli 
may  be  pronounced  the  most  shameful.  The  peculiar 
disgrace  of  the  period  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  condition 
of  the  empire  was  not  hopeless  at  the  time.  With 
ordinary  courage  and  prudence  it  might  have  been 
held  together,  for  the  attacks  directed  against  it  were 
not  more  formidable  than  others  which  had  been 
beaten  off  with  ease.  If  the  blow  had  fallen  when  a 
hero  like  Leo  III.,  or  even  a  statesman  like  Alexius 
I.  was  on  the  throne,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
it  would  have  been  parried.  But  it  fell  in  the  times 
of  two  incompetent  triflers,  who  conducted  the  state 


MISFORTUNES   OF   THE   AN  CELL  275 

on  the  principle  of,  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to- 
morrow we  die."  Isaac  and  Alexius  felt  in  themselves 
no  power  of  redeeming  the  empire  from  the  evil  day, 
and  resignedly  fell  back  on  personal  enjoyment. 
Isaac's  taste  lay  in  the  direction  of  gorgeous  raiment 
and  the  collecting  of  miraculous  "  eikons."  Alexius 
preferred  the  pleasures  of  the  table.  Considered  as 
sovereigns  there  was  little  to  choose  between  them. 
Each  was  competent  to  ruin  an  empire  already  verging 
on  its  decline. 

The  disaster  which  the  Angeli  brought  on  their 
realm  was  rendered  possible  only  by  its  complete 
military  and  financial  disorganization.  As  a  military 
power  the  empire  had  never  recovered  the  effects  of 
the  Seljouk  invasions,  which  had  robbed  it  of  its  great 
recruiting-ground  for  its  native  troops  in  Asia  Minor. 
After  that  loss  the  use  of  mercenaries  had  become 
more  and  more  prevalent.  The  brilliant  campaigns 
of  Manuel  Comnenus  had  been  made  at  the  head  of  a 
soldiery  of  whom  two-thirds  were  not  born-subjects  of 
the  empire.  He,  it  is  true,  had  kept  them  within  the 
bounds  of  strict  discipline,  and  contrived  at  all  costs 
to  provide  their  pay.  But  the  weak  and  thriftless 
Angeli  were  able  neither  to  find  money  nor  to 
maintain  discipline.  A  state  which  relies  for  its 
defence  on  foreign  mercenaries  is  ruined,  if  it  allows 
them  to  grow  disorderly  and  inefficient.  In  times  of 
stress  they  mutiny  instead  of  fighting. 

The  civil  administration  was  in  almost  as  deplorable 
a  condition,  while  those  two  "  Earthly  Angels  "  (as  a 
contemporary  chronicler  called  them)  were  charged 
with  its  care.     Isaac  Angelus  put  the  finishing  touch 


276    THE   LATIN   CONQUEST    OF   CONSTANTINOPLE. 

to  administrative  abuses,  which  had  already  been  rife 
enough  under  the  Comneni,  by  exposing  offices  and 
posts  to  auction.  Instead  of  paying  his  officials  he  "sent 
them  forth  without  purse  or  scrip,  like  the  apostles  of 
old,  to  make  what  profit  they  could  by  extortion  from 
the  provincials."  ^  His  brother  Alexius  promised  on 
his  accession  to  make  all  appointments  on  the  ground 
of  merit,  but  proved  in  reality  as  bad  as  Isaac.  He 
was  surrounded  by  a  ring  of  rapacious  favourites,  who 
managed  all  patronage,  and  dispensed  it  in  return  for 
bribes.  When  high  posts  were  not  sold,  they  were 
given  as  douceurs  to  men  of  local  influence,  whose 
rebellion  was  dreaded. 

The  history  of  the  twenty  years  covered  by  the 
reigns  of  the  two  Angeli  is  cut  into  two  equal  halves 
at  the  deposition  of  Isaac  by  his  brother  in  1 195.  It 
is  only  necessary  to  point  out  how  the  responsibility  for 
the  disasters  of  the  period  is  to  be  divided  between 
them. 

Isaac's  share  consists  in  the  loss  of  Bulgaria  and 
Cyprus.  The  former  country  had  now  been  in  the 
hands  of  the  Byzantines  for  nearly  two  hundred  years, 
since  its  conquest  by  Basil  II.  But  the  Bulgarians 
had  not  merged  in  the  general  body  of  the  subjects  of 
the  empire.  They  preserved  their  national  language 
and  customs,  and  never  forgot  their  ancient  indepen- 
dence. In  1 187,  three  brothers  named  Peter,  John, 
and  Azan  stirred  up  rebellion  among  them.  If  firmly 
treated  it  might  have  been  crushed  with  ease  by  the 
regular  troops  of  the  empire.  But  Isaac  first  appointed 
incompetent  generals,  who  let  the  rebellion  grow  to  a 

*  Nicetas,  "  Isaac  Angelus,"  book  iii.  ch.  8,  §  6. 


CYPRUS   AND   BULGARIA    LOST  277 

head,  and  when  at  last  he  placed  an  able  officer,  Alexis 
Branas,  in  command,  his  lieutenant  took  the  oppor- 
tunity of  using  his  army  for  revolt.  Branas  marched 
against  Constantinople,  and  would  have  taken  it,  had 
not  Isaac  committed  the  charge  of  the  troops  that 
remained  faithful  to  him  to  stronger  hands  than  his 
own.  He  bribed  an  able  adventurer  from  the  West, 
Conrad,  Marquis  of  Montferrat,  by  the  offer  of  his 
sister's  hand  and  a  great  sum  of  money  to  become  his 
saviour.  The  gallant  Lombard  routed  the  forces  of 
Branas,  slew  the  usurper,  and  preserved  the  throne 
for  his  brother-in-law.  But  while  the  civil  war  was 
going  on,  the  Bulgarians  were  left  unchecked,  and 
made  such  head  that  there  was  no  longer  much 
apparent  chance  of  subduing  them.  Isaac  took  the 
field  against  them  in  person,  only  to  see  the  great 
towns  of  Naissus,  Sophia,  and  Varna  taken  before  his 
eyes. 

While  a  national  revolt  deprived  the  Emperor  of 
Bulgaria,  Cyprus  was  lost  to  a  meaner  force.  Isaac 
Comnenus,  a  distant  relative  of  the  Emperor  Manuel 
II.,  raised  rebellion  among  the  Cypriots  and  defeated 
the  fleet  and  army  which  his  namesake  of  Constanti- 
nople sent  against  him.  He  held  out  for  six  years, 
and  appeared  likely  to  establish  a  permanent  kingdom 
in  the  island.  This  revolt  was  of  the  worst  augur)  to 
the  empire.  It  had  often  lost  provinces  by  the  in- 
vasion of  barbarian  hordes,  or  the  rebellion  of  subject 
nationalities.  But  that  a  native  rebel  should  sever  a 
civilized  Greek  province  from  the  empire,  and  reign  as 
"  Emperor  of  Cyprus,"  was  a  new  phenomenon.  By 
the   imperial    theory    the    idea    of    an   independent 


278     THE   LATIN   CONQUEST   OF    CONSTANTINOPLE. 

"  Empire  of  Cyprus "  was  wholly  monstrous  and 
abnormal.  The  successful  rebellion  of  Isaac  Comnenus 
pointed  to  the  possibility  of  a  general  breaking  up  of 
the  Byzantine  dominion  into  fragments,  a  danger  that 
had  never  appeared  before.  Till  now  the  provinces 
had  always  obeyed  the  capital,  and  no  instance  had 
been  known  of  a  rebel  maintaining  himself  by  any 
other  way  than  the  capture  of  Constantinople.  Isaac 
Comnenus  mii^ht,  however,  have  founded  a  dynasty  in 
Cyprus,  if  he  had  not  quarrelled  with  Richard  Coeur- 
de-Lion,  the  crusading  King  of  England.  When  he 
maltreated  some  shipwrecked  English  crews,  Richard 
punished  him  by  landing  his  army  in  Cyprus  and 
seizing  the  whole  island.  Isaac  was  thrown  into  a 
dungeon,  and  the  English  king  gave  his  dominions  to 
Guy  of  Lusignan,  who  called  in  Frank  adventurers  to 
settle  up  the  land,  and  made  it  into  a  feudal  kingdom 
of  the  usual  Western  type. 

While  Isaac  II.  was  in  the  midst  of  his  Bulgarian 
war,  and  misconducting  it  with  his  usual  fatuity,  he 
was  suddenly  dethroned  by  a  palace  intrigue.  His 
own  brother,  Alexius  Angelus,  had  hatched  a  plot 
against  him,  which  worked  so  successfully  that  Isaac 
was  caught,  blinded,  and  immured  in  a  monastery 
long  before  his  adherents  knew  that  he  was  in  danger. 

Alexius  III.  never  showed  any  other  proof  of  energy 
save  this  skilful  coit/)  d'etat  aimed  against  his  brother. 
He  continued  the  Bulgarian  war  with  the  same  ill- 
success  that  had  attended  Isaac's  dealings  with  it. 
He  plunged  into  a  disastrous  struggle  with  the  Seljouk 
Sultan  of  Iconium,  and  he  quarrelled  with  the 
Emperor    Henry   VI.,    who    would     certainly   have 


THE   FOURTH   CRUSADE.  279 

invaded  his  dominions  if  death  had  not  intervened  to 
prevent  it.  But  as  long  as  Alexius  was  permitted  to 
enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the  table  in  his  villas  on  the 
Bosphorus,  the  ill-success  abroad  of  his  arms  and 
his  diplomacy  vexed  him  but  little. 

But  in  1203,  a  new  and  unexpected  danger  arose  to 
scare  him  from  his  feasting.  His  blind  brother  Isaac 
had  a  young  son  named  Alexius,  who  escaped  from 
Constantinople  to  Italy,  and  took  refuge  with  Philip 
of  Suabia,  the  new  Emperor  of  the  West.  Philip  had 
married  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Angelus,  and  determined 
to  do  something  to  help  his  young  brother-in-law. 
The  opportunity  was  not  hard  to  seek.  Just  at  this 
moment  a  large  body  of  French,  Flemish,  and  Italian 
Crusaders,  who  had  taken  arms  at  the  command  of 
the  Pope,  were  lying  idle  at  Venice.  They  had 
marched  down  to  the  great  Italian  seaport  with  the 
intention  of  directing  a  blow  against  Malek-Adel, 
Sultan  of  Egypt.  The  Venetians  had  contracted  to 
supply  them  with  vessels  for  the  Crusade,  but  for 
reasons  of  their  own  had  determined  that  the  attack 
should  not  fall  on  the  shore  for  which  it  had  been 
destined.  They  were  on  very  good  terms  with  the 
Egyptian  sovereign,  who  had  granted  them  valuable 
commercial  privileges  at  Alexandria,  which  threw  the 
whole  trade  with  the  distant  realms  of  India  into 
Venetian  hands.  Accordingly  they  had  determined 
to  avert  the  blow  from  Egypt  and  turn  it  against  some 
other  enemy  of  Christendom.  The  leaders  of  the 
Fourth  Crusade  proved  unable  to  pay  the  full  sum 
which  they  had  contracted  to  give  the  Venetians  as 
ship-hire,  and  this  was  made   an   excuse  for  keeping 


28o    THE   LATIN   CONQUEST   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE. 

them  camped  on  the  unhealthy  islands  in  the  Lagoons 
till  their  patience  and  tlieir  stores  were  alike  exhausted. 
Henry  Dandolo,  the  aged  but  wily  doge,  then  proposed 
to  the  Crusaders  that  they  should  pay  their  way  by 
doing  something  in  aid  of  Venice.  The  Dalmatian 
town  of  Zara  had  lately  revolted  and  done  homage  to 
the  King  of  Hungary  ;  if  the  Crusaders  would  recover 
it,  the  Venetian  state  would  wipe  out  their  debts  and 
transport  them  whither  they  wished  to  go. 

The  Crusaders  had  taken  arms  for  a  holy  war 
against  the  Moslems.  They  were  now  invited  to  turn 
aside  against  a  Christian  town  and  interest  themselves 
in  Venetian  politics.  Conscientious  men  would  have 
refused  to  join  in  such  an  unholy  bargain,  and  would 
have  insisted  in  carrying  out  their  original  purpose 
against  Egypt.  But  conscientious  men  had  been 
growing  more  and  more  rare  among  the  Crusaders  for 
the  last  hundred  years.  There  were  as  many  greedy 
military  adventurers  among  them  as  single-hearted 
pilgrims.  The  more  scrupulous  chiefs  were  over- 
persuaded  by  their  designing  companions,  and  the 
expedition  against  Zara  was  undertaken. 

Zara  fell,  but  another  and  a  more  important 
enterprise  was  then  placed  before  the  Crusaders. 
While  they  wintered  on  the  Dalmatian  coast  the 
)'Oung  Alexius  Angclus  appeared  in  their  camp, 
escorted  by  the  ambassadors  of  his  brother-in-law, 
the  Emperor  Philip  of  Suabia!.  The  exiled  prince 
besought  them  to  turn  aside  once  more  before  they 
sailed  to  the  East,  and  to  rescue  his  blind  father  from 
the  dungeon  into  which  he  had  been  cast  by  his  cruel 
brother  Alexius  HI.     If  they   would   drive  out  the 


THE   LEADERS   OF    THE   CRUSADE.  28 1 

usurper  and  restore  the  rightful  ruler  to  his  throne, 
they  should  have  anything  that  the  Byzantine  Empire 
could  afford  to  help  them  for  their  Crusade — money 
in  plenty,  stores,  a  war  fleet,  a  force  of  mercenary 
troops,  and  his  own  presence  as  a  helper  In  the  war 
with  Egypt. 

Pope  Innocent  III.  had  already  been  storming  at 
the  adventurers  for  shedding  Christian  blood  at  Zara, 
and  tampering  with  their  Crusader's  oath.  But  the 
prospect  of  Byzantine  gold  seduced  the  needy  Western 
barons,  and  the  desire  of  keeping  the  war  away  from 
Egypt  ruled  the  minds  of  the  Venetians.  They  hesi- 
tated and  began  to  treatwith  Alexius,  though  they  knew 
that  thereby  they  were  calling  down  on  themselves 
the  terrors  of  a  Papal  excommunication.  All  now 
depended  on  the  leaders,  and  among  them  the  abler 
minds  were  set  on  the  acceptance  of  the  proposal  of 
the  young  Byzantine  exile.  The  three  chiefs  of  the 
Crusade  were  the  Doge  Henry  Dandolo,  Boniface 
Marquis  of  Montferrat,  and  Baldwin  Count  of 
Flanders.  In  Dandolo  the  ruthless  energy  of  the 
Italian  Republics  stood  incarnate  ;  he  was  the  one 
man  in  the  crusading  army  who  knew  exactly  what 
he  wanted.  Old  and  blind,  but  clear-headed  and  in- 
flexible, he  was  set  on  revenging  an  ancient  grudge 
against  the  Greeks,  and  on  furthering,  by  any  means, 
good  or  evil,  the  fortunes  of  his  native  city.  Baldwin 
and  Boniface,  the  two  secondary  figures  in  the  camp 
of  the  Franks,  are  perfect  representations  of  the  two 
types  of  crusader.  The  Fleming,  gallant  and  generous, 
pious  and  debonnair,  worthy  of  a  more  righteous 
enterprise  and  a  more  honourable  death,  was  a  true 


282     THE   LATIN   CONQUEST   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE, 

successor  of  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  and  the  heroes  of 
the  First  Crusade.  The  Lombard,  a  deep  and  hardy 
schemer,  to  whom  force  and  fraud  seemed  equally 
good,  was  simply  seeking  for  wealth  and  fame  in  the 
realms  of  the  East.  He  cared  little  for  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  and  much  for  his  own  private  advancement 
Behind  these  three  leaders  we  descry  the  motley 
crowd  of  the  feudal  world  ;  relic-hunting  abbots  in 
coats  of  mail,  wrangling  barons  and  penniless  knights, 
the  half-piratical  seamen  of  Venice,  and  the  brutal 
soldiery  of  the  West. 

Boniface  of  ]\Iontferrat  and  Doge  Dandolo  gradually 
talked  over  the  more  scrupulous  Baldwin  and  his 
friends,  and  the  crusading  fleet  was  launched  against 
Constantinople,  after  a  treaty  had  been  signed  which 
bound  Alexius  Angelus  and  his  blind  father,  Isaac  11., 
to  pay  the  Crusaders  200,000  marks  of  silver,  send 
ten  thousand  men  to  Palestine,  and  acknowledge  the 
supremacy  of  the  Pope  over  the  Eastern  Church.  In 
these  conditions  lay  the  germs  of  much  future  trouble. 

The  Crusading  armament  reached  the  Dardanelles 
without  having  to  strike  a  blow.  The  slothful  and 
luxurious  emperor  let  things  slide,  and  had  not  even  a 
fleet  ready  to  send  against  them  in  the  Aegean.  He 
shut  himself  up  in  Constantinople,  and  trusted  to  the 
strength  of  its  walls  to  deliver  him,  as  Heraclius  and 
Leo  III.  and  many  more  of  his  predecessors  had  been 
delivered.  If  the  siege  had  been  conducted  from  the 
land  side  only,  his  hopes  might  have  been  justified, 
for  the  Danes  and  English  of  the  Varangian  Guard  beat 
back  the  assault  of  the  Franks  on  the  land-wall.  But 
Alexius  III.,  unlike  earlier  emperors,  was  attacked  by 


284    THE   LATIN   CONQUEST   OF    CONSTANTINOPLE. 

a  fleet  to  which  he  could  oppose  no  adequate  naval 
resistance.  Though  the  Crusaders  were  driven  off  on 
shore,  the  Venetians  stormed  the  sea-wall,  by  the 
expedient  of  building  light  towers  on  the  decks,  and 
throwing  flying  bridges  from  the  towers  on  to  the  top 
of  the  Byzantine  ramparts.  The  blind  Doge  pushed 
his  galley  close  under  the  wall,  and  urged  on  his  men 
again  and  again  till  they  had  won  a  lodgment  in  some 
towers  on  the  port  side  of  the  sea-wall.  The  Venetians 
then  fired  the  city,  and  a  fearful  conflagration 
followed. 

Hearing  that  the  enemy  was  within  the  ramparts, 
the  cowardly  Alexius  III.  mounted  his  horse  and  fled 
away  into  the  inland  of  Thrace,  leaving  his  troops, 
who  were  not  yet  half  beaten,  without  a  leader  or  a 
cause  to  fight  for.  The  garrison  bowed  to  necessity, 
and  the  chief  officers  of  the  army  drew  the  aged  Isaac 
II.  out  of  his  cloister  prison  and  proclaimed  his 
restoration  to  the  throne.  They  sent  to  the  Crusading 
camp  to  announce  that  hostilities  had  ceased,  and  to 
beg  Prince  Alexius  to  enter  the  city  and  join  his 
father  in  the  palace. 

The  end  of  the  expedition  of  the  Crusaders  had 
now  been  attained,  but  it  may  safely  be  asserted  that 
the  chief  feeling  in  their  ranks  was  a  bitter  disappoint- 
ment at  being  cheated  out  of  the  sack  of  Constanti- 
nople, a  prospect  over  which  they  had  been  gloating 
ever  since  they  left  Zara.  They  spent  the  next  three 
months  in  endeavouring  to  wring  out  of  their  trium- 
phant proteges,  Isaac  and  Alexius,  every  bezant 
that  could  be  scraped  together.  The  old  emperor, 
already  blind  and  gout-ridden,  was  driven  to  imbe- 


RISING  AGAINST   THE  PRANKS.  285 

cility  by  their  demands :  his  son  was  a  raw,  inexpe- 
rienced youth  who  could  neither  be  firm,  nor  frank, 
nor  dignified  in  dealing  with  any  one.  He  angered 
the  Franks  by  insincere  diplomacy,  and  the  Greeks 
by  his  reckless  schemes  for  extracting  money  from 
them.  The  winter  of  1203-4  was  spent  in  ceaseless 
wrangling  about  the  subsidy  due  to  the  Crusaders,  till 
Alexius,  growing  seriously  frightened,  began  exactions 
on  his  subjects  which  drove  them  to  revolt.  When 
he  seized  and  melted  down  the  golden  lamps  and 
silver  candelabra  which  formed  the  pride  of  St. 
Sophia,  stripped  its  eikonostasis  of  its  rich  metal 
plating,  and  requisitioned  the  jewelled  eikons  and 
reliquaries  of  every  church  in  the  city,  the  populace 
would  stand  his  proceedings  no  longer.  They  would 
not  serve  an  emperor  who  had  sold  himself  to  the 
Franks,  and  only  reigned  in  order  to  subject  the  Eastern 
Church  to  Rome,  and  to  pour  the  hoarded  wealth  of 
the  ancient  empire  into  the  coffers  of  the  upstart 
Italian  republics. 

In  January,  1204,  the  storm  burst.  The  populace 
and  troops  shut  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  fell  on  the 
isolated  Latins  who  were  within  the  walls.  They 
were  not  long  without  a  leader ;  a  fierce  and  unscru- 
pulous officer  named  Alexius  Ducas  put  himself  at 
their  head  and  determined  to  seize  the  throne.  Isaac 
II.  died  of  fright  in  the  midst  of  the  tumult  ;  his  son 
Alexius  was  caught  and  strangled  by  the  usurper. 
Thus  the  Angeli  ceased  out  of  the  land,  and  Alexius 
V.  reigned  in  their  stead.  He  is  less  frequently 
named  by  chroniclers  under  his  family  name  of 
Ducas,  than   under  his  nickname  of  "  Murtzuphlus," 


286     THE   LATIN   CONQUEST   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE. 

drawn  from  the  bushy  overhanging  eyebrows  which 
formed  the  most  prominent  feature  of  his  counte- 
nance. 

Alexius  Ducas  had  everything  against  him.  He 
was  a  mere  usurper,  whose  authority  was  hardly 
recognized  beyond  the  walls  of  Constantinople.  The 
Angeli  had  so  drained  the  treasury  that  nothing 
remained  in  it.  Twenty  years  of  indiscipline  and 
disaster  had  spoilt  the  army ;  the  fleet  was  non- 
existent, for  the  admirals  of  Alexius  Angelus  had  laid 
up  the  vessels  in  ordinary,  and  sold  the  stores  to  fill 
their  own  pockets.  Nevertheless  Murtzuphlus  made 
a  far  better  fight  than  his  despicable  predecessor  and 
namesake.  He  collected  a  little  money  by  confiscating 
the  properties  of  the  unpopular  courtiers  and  ministers 
of  the  Angeli,  and  used  it  to  the  best  advantage.  The 
army  received  some  of  the  arrears  due  to  them,  and 
Alexius  spent  every  spare  moment  in  seeing  to  their 
drill  and  endeavouring  to  improve  their  discipline. 
He  strengthened  the  sea-wall,  whose  weakness  had 
been  proved  so  fatally  four  months  ago,  by  erecting 
wooden  towers  along  it,  and  building  platforms  for 
all  the  military  engines  that  could  be  found  in  the 
arsenal.  He  ordered,  too,  the  enrolment  of  a 
national  militia,  and  compelled  the  nobles  and 
burghers  of  Constantinople  to  take  arms  and  man 
the  walls.  To  the  discredit  of  the  Byzantines  this 
order  was  received  with  many  murmurs  :  the  citizens 
complained  that  they  paid  taxes  to  support  the 
regular  army,  and  that  they  therefore  ought  to  be 
excused  personal  service.  Little  good  was  got  out  of 
these  new  and  raw  levies  ;  they  swelled   the  numbers 


SECOND   ASSAULT   ON   CONSTANTINOPLE.      287 

of  the  garrison,  but  hardly  added  anything  appreciable 
to  its  strength. 

Alexius  Ducas  himself  with  his  cavalry  scoured  the 
country  round  the  Crusading  camp  every  day,  to  cut 
off  the  foraging  parties  of  the  Franks,  and  when  not 
in  the  field,  rode  round  the  city  superintending  the 
works,  inspecting  the  guard-posts,  and  haranguing 
the  soldiery.  If  courage  and  energy  command 
success,  he  ought  to  have  held  his  own.  But  he  could 
not  counteract  the  work  of  twenty  years  of  decay 
and  disorganization,  and  felt  that  his  throne  rested 
on  the  most  fragile  of  foundations. 

The  Crusaders  took  two  months  to  prepare  for 
their  second  assault  on  Constantinople,  which  they 
felt  would  be  a  far  more  formidable  affair  than  the 
attack  in  the  preceding  autumn.  They  directed  their 
chief  efforts  against  the  sea-wall,  which  they  had 
found  vulnerable  in  the  previous  siege,  and  left  the 
formidable  land-wall  alone.  The  ships  were  told  off 
into  groups,  each  destined  to  attack  a  particular 
section  of  the  wall,  and  covered  with  as  many  military 
engines  as  they  could  carry.  Flying  bridges  were 
again  prepared,  and  landing  parties  were  directed  to 
leap  ashore  on  the  narrow  beach  between  the  wall 
and  the  water,  and  get  to  work  with  rams  and  scaling 
ladders.  The  attack  was  made  on  April  8th,  at  more 
than  a  hundred  points  along  two  miles  of  sea-wall, 
but  it  was  beaten  off  with  loss.  Alexius  Ducas  had 
made  his  arrangements  so  well,  that  the  fire  of  his 
engines  swept  off  all  who  attempted  to  gain  a  footing 
on  the  ramparts.  The  ships  were  much  damaged, 
and  at  noon  the  whole  fleet  gave  back,  and  retired 


288     THE   LATIN   CONQUEST   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE. 

as  best  it  could  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  Golden 
Horn. 

Many  of  the  Crusaders  were  now  for  returning  ; 
they  thought  their  defeat  was  a  judgment  for  turning 
their  arms  against  a  Christian  city,  and  wished  to  sail 
for  the  Holy  Land.  But  Dandolo  and  the  Venetians 
insisted  upon  repeating  the  assault.  Three  days  were 
spent  in  repairing  the  fleet,  and  on  April  I2th  a  second 
attack  was  delivered.  This  time  the  ships  were  lashed 
together  in  pairs  to  secure  stability,  and  the  attack 
was  concentrated  on  a  comparatively  small  front  of 
wall.  At  last,  after  much  fighting,  the  military  engines 
of  the  fleet  and  the  bolts  of  its  crossbowmen  cleared 
a  single  tower  of  its  defenders.  A  bridge  was 
successfully  lowered  on  to  it,  and  a  footing  secured 
by  a  party  of  Crusaders,  who  then  threw  open  a 
postern  gate  and  let  the  main  body  in.  After  a  short 
fight  within  the  walls,  the  troops  of  Alexius  Ducas 
retired  back  into  the  streets.  The  Crusaders  fired  the 
city  to  cover  their  advance,  and  by  night  were  in 
possession  of  the  north-west  angle  of  Constantinople, 
the  quarter  of  the  palace  of  Blachern. 

While  the  fire  was  keeping  the  combatants  apart, 
the  Emperor  tried  to  rally  his  troops  and  to  prepare 
for  a  street-fight  next  day.  But  the  army  was  cowed  ; 
many  regiments  melted  away ;  and  the  Varangian 
Guard,  the  best  corps  in  the  garrison,  chose  this 
moment  to  demand  that  their  arrears  of  pay  should 
be  liquidated  ;  they  would  not  return  to  the  fight 
without  their  money !  The  twenty  years  of  dis- 
organization under  the  Angeli  was  now  bearing  its 
fruit,  and  deeply  was  the  empire  to  rue  the  next  day. 


THE   FRANKS   ENTER    CONSTANTINOPLE. 


289 


Alexius  Ducas,  in  despair  at  being  unable  to  make 
his  men  fight,  left  the  city  by  night.  He  was  soon 
followed  by  the  last  Greek  officer  who  kept  his  head, 
the  general  Theodore  Lascaris,  who  endeavoured  to 


BYZANTINE    REIIQUARY. 

{^From ''  V Art  Byzaiitin:''     Par  C,  Bayet.     Paris,  Quantin,  1883.) 

make  one  final  attack  on  the  Crusaders  even  after 
his  master  had  departed.  Next  morning  the  Franks 
found  themselves  in  full  possession  of  the  city,  though 
they  had  been  expecting  to  face  a  hard  day  of  street- 
fighting  before  this  end  could  be  attained. 


2(J0    THE   LATIN   CONQUEST   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE. 

In  cold  blood,  twelve  hours  after  all  fighting  had 
ended,  the  Crusaders  proceeded  with  great  delibera- 
tion to  sack  the  place.  The  leaders  could  not  or  would 
not  hold  back  their  men,  and  every  atrocity  that 
attends  the  storm  of  a  great  city  was  soon  in  full 
swing.  Though  no  resistance  was  made,  the  soldiery, 
and  especially  the  Venetians,  took  life  recklessly,  and 
three  or  four  thousand  unarmed  citizens  were  slain. 
But  there  was  no  general  massacre  ;  it  was  lust  and 
greed  rather  than  bloodthirstiness  that  the  army 
displayed.  All  the  Western  writers,  no  less  than 
the  Greeks,  testify  to  the  horrors  of  the  three  days' 
carnival  of  rape  and  plunder  that  now  ;:et  in.  Every 
knight  or  soldier  seized  on  the  house  that  he  liked 
best,  and  dealt  as  he  chose  with  its  inmates.  Churches 
and  nunneries  fared  no  better  than  private  dwellings; 
the  orgies  that  were  enacted  in  the  holiest  places 
caused  even  the  Pope  to  exclaim  that  no  good  could 
ever  come  out  of  the  conquest.  CThe  drunken  soldiery 
enthroned  a  harlot  in  the  patriarchal  chair  in  St. 
Sophia,  and  made  her  rehearse  ribald  songs  and 
indecent  dances  before  the  high  altar.  There  were 
plenty  of  clergy  with  the  Crusading  army,  but  instead 
of  endeavouring  to  check  the  sacrilegious  doings  of 
their  countrymen,  they  devoted  themsch'cs  to  plun- 
dering the  treasuries  of  the  churches  of  all  the  holy 
bones  and  relics  that  were  stored  in  them;,  "  The 
Franks,"  remarked  a  Greek  writer  who  saw  the  sack 
of  Constantinople,  *'  behaved  far  worse  than  Saracens  ; 
the  infidels  when  a  town  has  surrendered  at  any  rate 
respect  churches  and  women." 

After  private  plunder  had  reigned   unchecked  for 


1 


PLUNDER   OF   THE    CITY.  29 1 

three  days,  the  leaders  of  the  Crusaders  collected 
such  valuables  as  could  be  found  for  public  division. 
Though  so  much  had  been  stolen  and  concealed,  they 
were  able  to  produce  no  less  than  i^8oo,ooo  in  hard 
gold  and  silver  for  distribution.  The  sum  was  after- 
wards supplemented  by  the  use  of  a  resource  which 
makes  the  modern  historian  add  a  special  curse  of  his 
own  to  the  account  of  the  Crusaders.  Down  to  1204 
Constantinople  still  contained  the  monuments  of 
ancient  Greek  art  in  enormous  numbers.  In  spite 
of  the  wear  and  tear  of  900  years,  her  squares  and 
palaces  were  still  crowded  with  the  art-treasures 
that  Constantine  and  his  sons  had  stored  up. 
Nicetas,  who  was  an  eyewitness  of  all,  has  left  us 
the  list  of  the  chief  statues  that  suffered.  The 
Heracles  of  Lysippus,  the  great  Hera  of  Samos,  the 
brass  figures  which  Augustus  set  up  after  Actium,  the 
ancient  Roman  bronze  of  the  Wolf  with  Romulus  and 
Remus,  Paris  with  the  Golden  Apple,  Helen  of  Troy, 
and  dozens  more  all  went  into  the  melting-pot,  to  be 
recast  into  wretched  copper  money.  The  monuments 
of  Christian  art  fared  no  better  ;  the  tombs  of  the 
emperors  were  carefully  stripped  of  everything  in 
metal,  the  altars  and  screens  of  the  churches  scraped 
to  the  stone.  Everything  was  left  bare  and  desolate. 
Such  was  "  the  greatest  conquest  that  was  ever 
seen,  greater  than  any  made  by  Alexander  or  Charle- 
magne, or  by  any  that  have  lived  before  or  after,"  as 
a  Western  chronicler  wrote,  while  the  Greeks  grew 
hyperbolical  in  lamentation,  as  they  saw  "the  eye  of 
the  world,  the  ornament  of  nations,  the  fairest  sight 
on  earth,  the  mother  of  churches,  the  spring  whence 


292     THE   LATIN    CONQUEST   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE, 

flowed  the  waters  of  faith,  the  mistress  of  Orthodox 
doctrine,  the  seat  of  the  sciences,  draining  the  cup 
mixed  for  her  by  the  hand  of  the  Almighty,  and  con- 
sumed by  fires  as  devouring  as  those  which  ruined 
the  five  Cities  of  the  Plain." 

At  last  the  Crusaders  sat  down  to  divide  up  their 
conquests.  They  elected  Baldwin  of  Flanders  Em- 
peror of  the  East,  and  handed  over  to  him  the  ruined 
city  of  Constantinople,  half  of  it  devoured  by  the 
flames  of  the  conflagrations  that  attended  the  two 
sieges,  and  all  of  it  plundered  from  cellar  to  attic. 
Four-fifths  of  the  population  had  fled,  and  no  one 
had  remained  save  beggars  v/ho  had  nothing  to  save 
by  flight.  With  the  capital  Baldwin  was  given  Thrace 
and  the  Asiatic  provinces — Bithynia,  Mysia,  and 
Lydia,  all  of  which  had  still  to  be  conquered.  His 
colleague,  Boniface  of  Montferrat,  was  made  "  King 
of  Thessalonica,"  and  did  homage  to  Baldwin  for  a 
fief  consisting  of  Macedonia,  Thessaly,  and  inland 
Epirus.  The  Venetians  claimed  "  a  quarter  and 
half-a-quarter "  of  the  empire,  and  took  out  their 
share  by  receiving  Crete,  the  Ionian  Islands,  the 
ports  along  the  west  coast  of  Greece  and  Albania, 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  islands  of  the  Aegean,  and 
the  land  about  the  entrance  of  the  Dardanelles. 
They  seized  on  every  good  harbour  and  strong  sea- 
fortress,  but  left  the  inland  alone  ;  commerce  rather 
than  annexation  was  their  end.  The  rest  of  the 
empire  was  parcelled  out  among  the  minor  leaders 
of  the  Crusade  ;  they  had  first  to  conquer  their  fiefs, 
and  were  then  to  do  hotnage  for  them  to  the 
Emperor  Baldwin.       Most  of   them    never    lived    to 


THE   END   OF   ALEXIUS   DUCAS.  293 

accomplish  the  scheme.  Meanwhile  a  Venetian 
prelate  was  appointed  patriarch  of  Constantinople, 
and  news  was  sent  to  the  Pope  that  the  union  of 
the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches  was  accomplished, 
by  the  forcible  extinction  of  the  Greek  patriarchate. 

It  only  remains  to  speak  of  Alexius  Ducas,  the 
fugitive  Greek  emperor.  He  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Crusaders,  was  tried  for  the  murder  of  the  young 
Alexius  Angelus,  and  suffered  death  by  being  taken 
to  the  top  of  a  lofty  pillar  and  hurled  from  it.  The 
Greeks  saw  in  this  strange  end  the  fulfilment  of  an 
obscure  prophecy  about  the  last  of  the  Caesars,  which 
had  long  puzz'led  the  brains  of  the  oracle-mongers. 


XXIII. 


THE    LATIN   EMPIRE  AND   THE   EMPIRE    OF   NICAEA. 


(1 204-1 261.) 


Seldom  has  any  state  dragged  out  fifty-seven 
years  in  such  constant  misery  and  danger  as  the 
Latin  Empire  experienced  in  the  course  of  its 
inglorious  existence.  The  whole  period  was  one 
protracted  death-agony,  and  at  no  date  within  it 
did  there  appear  any  reasonable  prospect  of  recovery. 
Thirty  thousand  men  can  take  a  city,  but  they  can- 
not subdue  a  real  in  800  miles  long  and  400  broad. 
Far  more  than  any  government  which  has  since  held 
sway  on  the  same  spot  did  the  Latin  Empire  of 
Romania  deserve  the  name  of  '*  the  Sick  Man."  It 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  but  for  the  unequalled 
strength  of  the  walls  of  Constantinople  the  new 
power  must  have  ceased  to  exist  within  ten  years  of 
its  establishment. 

But  once  fortified  within  the  ramparts  of  B}'zantium 
the  Franks  enjoyed  the  inestimable  advantage  which 
their  Greek  predecessors  had  possessed  :  they  were 
masters  of  a  fortress  which — as  military  science  then 


BALDWIN   SLAIN  IN  BATTLE.  295 

Stood — was  practically  impregnable,  if  only  it  was 
defended  with  ordinary  skill,  and  adequately  guarded 
on  the  front  facing  the  sea.  As  long  as  the  Venetians 
kept  up  their  naval  supremacy  in  Eastern  waters,  the 
city  was  safe  on  that  side,  and  even  the  very  limited 
force  which  the  Latin  emperor  could  put  into  the 
field  sufficed,  when  joined  to  the  armed  burghers  of 
the  Italian  quarters,  to  defend  the  tremendous  land 
wall. 

From  the  first  year  of  its  existence  the  Latin 
Empire  was  marked  out  by  unfailing  signs  as  a 
power  not  destined  to  continue.  The  intention  of  its 
founders  had  been  to  replace  the  centralized  despotism 
which  they  had  overthrown  by  a  great  feudal  state, 
corresponding  in  territorial  extent  to  its  predecessor. 
But  within  a  few  months  it  became  evident  that  the 
conquest  of  the  broad  provinces  which  the  Crusaders 
had  distributed  among  themselves  by  anticipation, 
was  not  to  be  carried  out.  The  new  emperor  himself 
was  the  first  to  discover  this.  He  set  out  with  his 
chivalry  to  drive  from  Northern  Thrace  the  Bulgarian 
hordes,  who  had  flocked  down  into  the  plains  to 
profit  by  the  plunder  of  the  dismembered  realm.  But 
near  Adrianople  he  met  Joannicios,  the  Bulgarian 
king,  with  a  vast  army  at  his  back.  The  Franks 
charged  gallantly  enough,  but  they  were  simply 
overwhelmed  by  numbers.  The  larger  part  of  the 
army  was  cut  to  pieces,  and  Baldwin  himself  was 
taken  prisoner.  The  Bulgarian  kept  him  in  chains 
for  some  months,  and  then  put  him  to  death,  after  he 
had  worn  the  imperial  crown  only  one  year  [1205]. 

Henry  of  Flanders,  the  brother  of  Baldwin,  became 


296    THE   LATIN   EMPIRE   AND   EMPIRE   OF  NICAEA. 

his  successor.  He  was  an  honest  and  able  man,  but 
he  could  do  nothing  towards  conquering  the  provinces 
of  Asia,  pushing  the  Bulgarians  back  over  the 
Balkans,  or  conciliating  the  subject  Greek  population. 
All  his  reign  he  had  to  fight  on  the  defensive  against 
his  neighbours  to  the  north  and  south.  By  the  time 
that  he  died  the  empire  was  practically  confined  to 
a  narrow  slip  of  land  along  the  Propontis,  reaching 
from  Gallipoli  to  Constantinople.  Nor  was  the  chief 
of  the  minor  Latin  states  any  better  off;  Boniface  of 
Montferrat  had  fallen  in  1207,  slain  in  battle  by  the 
same  Bulgarian  hordes  which  had  cut  off  the  army 
of  his  suzerain  Baldwin.  With  his  death  it  became 
evident  that  the  kingdom  of  Thessalonica  was  no 
more  able  to  conquer  all  the  old  Byzantine  provinces 
in  its  neighbourhood  than  was  the  empire  of  Con- 
stantinople. Boniface's  son  and  heir  was  a  mere 
infant;  during  his  minority  the  lands  of  his  kingdom 
were  lopped  away,  one  after  another,  by  the  Greek 
despot  of  Epirus,  the  able  Theodore  Angelus.  At 
last  the  capital  itself  was  retaken  by  the  Greeks  in 
1222,  and  the  kingdom  of  Thessalonica  came  to  an 
end. 

The  Latin  states  in  the  southern  parts  of  the 
Balkan  Peninsula  fared  somewhat  better.  William  of 
Champlittc  had  contrived  to  hew  out  for  himself  a 
principality  in  the  western  parts  of  the  Peloponnesus, 
and  had  organized  there  a  small  state  with  twelve 
baronies  and  136  knights  fees.  The  resistance  of  the 
natives  in  this  district  was  particularly  weak,  and  one 
battle  sufficed  to  give  William  all  the  coast-plain  of 
Elis   and    Messenia.     Yet    he    did    not    succeed    in 


THE   SMALLER   LATIN   STATES.  297 

subduing-  the  mountaineers  of  the  peninsula  of  Maina, 
or  the  coast  towns  of  Argolis  and  Laconia,  so  that  the 
Greeks  still  had  some  foothold  in  the  peninsula. 

Another  small  Latin  state  was  set  up  by  Otho  de 
la  Roche  in  Central  Greece,  where  as  "  Duke  of 
Athens  "  he  ruled  Attica  and  Boeotia.  He  treated 
his  Greek  subjects  with  more  consideration  than  any 
of  his  fellow  Crusaders,  and  was  rewarded  by  obtain- 
ing a  degree  of  respect  and  deference  which  was  not 
found  in  any  other  Latin  state.  Though  the  smallest, 
the  duchy  of  Athens  was  undoubtedly  the  most 
prosperous  of  the  new  creations  of  the  conquest  of 
1204. 

Meanwhile  it  is  time  to  speak  of  the  fortunes  of 
those  parts  of  the  Eastern  Empire  which  the  Franks 
did  not  succeed  in  seizing  when  Constantinople  fell. 
The  provinces  had  hitherto  been  accustomed  to 
accept  without  a  murmur  the  ruler  whom  the  capital 
obeyed.  But  in  1204  it  was  found  that  the  centraliza- 
tion of  the  Byzantine  Empire,  great  as  it  was,  had 
not  so  thoroughly  crushed  the  individuality  of  the 
provinces  as  to  make  them  submit  without  resistance 
to  the  Latin  yoke.  Wherever  the  provincials  found 
a  leader,  whether  a  member  of  one  of  the  ex-imperial 
houses,  or  an  energetic  governor,  or  a  landholder  of 
local  influence,  they  stood  up  to  defend  themselves. 
The  Byzantine  Empire,  like  some  creature  of  low 
organism,  showed  every  sign  of  life  in  its  limbs, 
though  its  head  had  been  shorn  off.  Wherever  a 
centre  of  resistance  could  be  found  the  people  refused 
to  submit  to  the  piratical  Frank,  and  to  his  yet  more 
hated  companions  the  priests  of  the  Roman  Church. 


298    THE   LATIN   EMPIRE    AND   EMPIRE    OF   NICAEA, 

Of  the  nine  or  ten  leaders  who  put  themselves  at 
the  head  of  provincial  risings  three  were  destined  to 
carve  out  kingdoms  for  themselves.  Of  these  the 
most  important  was  Theodore  Lascaris,  the  last 
officer  who  had  attempted  to  strike  a  blow  against 
the  Franks  when  Constantinople  fell.^  He  might 
claim  some  shadow  of  hereditary  right  to  the  imperial 
crown  as  he  had  married  the  daughter  of  the  imbecile 
Alexius  III.,  but  his  true  title  was  his  well-approved 
courage  and  energy.  The  wrecks  of  the  old  Byzantine  . 
army  rallied  around  him,  the  cities  of  Bithynia  opened 
their  gates,  and  when  the  Latins  crossed  into  Asia  to 
divide  up  the  land  into  baronies  and  knights  fees, 
they  found  Theodore  waiting  to  receive  them  with 
the  sword.  His  defence  of  the'  strong  town  of  Prusa, 
which  successfully  repelled  Henry  of  Flanders,  put  a 
limit  to  the  extension  of  the  Frank  Empire ;  beyond 
a  few  castles  on  the  Bithynian  coast  they  made  no 
conquests.  Having  thus  checked  the  invaders, 
Theodore  had  himself  solemnly  crowned  at  Nicaea, 
and  assumed  imperial  state  ^i2o6J. 

Having  beaten  off  the  Latins,  Theodore  had  to- 
cope  with  another  who  aspired  like  himself  to  pose 
as  the  rightful  heir  to  the  imperial  throne.  Alexius 
Comnenus,  a  grandson  of  the  wicked  emperor 
Andronicus  L,  had  betaken  himself  to  the  Eastern 
frontiers  of  the  empire  when  Constantinople  fell,  and 
obtained  possession  of  Trebizond  and  the  long  slip  of 
coast-land  at  the  south-cast  corner  of  the  Black  Sea, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Phasis  to  Sinope.  He  aspired 
to  conquer  the  whole  of  B\zantine  Asia,  and  sent  his 

'  Sec  page  289. 


SUCCESSES   OF   THEODORE   LASCARIS. 


299 


brother  David  Comnenus  to  attack  Bithynia.  But 
Theodore  defended  his  newly  won  realm  with  success  ; 
Comnenus  gained  no  territory  from  him,  and  was 
constrained  to  content  himself  with  the  narrow  bounds 
of  his  Pontic  realm,  where  his  descendants  reigned  in 
obscurity  for   three  hundred    years   as   emperors   of 


FINIAL    FROM    A    BYZANTINE    MS. 

{From  ^^  L' Art  Byzantiji.^'     Far  C.  Bayet.     Faris,  Quantin,  1883.) 

Trebizond.  A  greater  danger  beset  the  empire  of^— ^ 
Nicaea  when  the  warlike  sultan  of  the  Seljouks  came 
down  from  his  plateau  to  ravage  its  borders.  But  the 
valour  of  Theodore  Lascaris  triumphed  over  this 
enemy  also.  In  the  battle  of  Antioch-on-Maeander 
he  slew  Sultan  Kaikhosru  with  his  own  hand  in  single 


300     THE    LATIN   EMPIRE   AND   EMPIRE   OF    NICAEA. 

combat,  and  the  Turks  were  beaten  back  with  such 
slaughter  that  they  left  the  empire  alone  for  a  genera- 
tion. 

Meanwhile  a  third  Greek  state  had  sprung  into 
existence  in  the  far  West  Michael  Angelus,  a  cousin 
of  Alexius  III.  and  Isaac  II.,  put  in  a  claim  to  their 
heritage,  thou;^h  he  was  disqualified  by  his  illcgitmate 
birth.  He  was  recognized  as  ruler  b\'  the  cities  of 
'^Epirus,  and  proclaimed  himself  "  despot  "  of  that  land. 
Raising  an  army  among  the  warlike  tribes  of  Albania, 
he  maintained  his  position  with  success,  and  dis- 
comfited the  Franks  of  Athens  and  Thessalonica 
when  they  took  arms  against  him.  He  died  early, 
but  left  a  compact  heritage  to  his  brother  Theodore, 
who  succeeded  him  on  the  throne,  and  within  a  (g\v 
years  conquered  the  whole  of  the  Frank  kingdom  of 
Thessalonica, 

It  was  soon  evident  that  there  would  be  a  trial 
of  strength  between  the  two  Greek  emperors  who 
claimed  to  succeed  to  the  rights  of  the  dispossessed 
Angeli.  The  Latin  Empire  was  obviously  destined 
to  fall  before  on-e  of  them.  The  only  doubt  was, 
whether  the  Epirot  or  the  Nicene  was  to  be  its 
conqueror.  This  question  was  not  settled  till  1241, 
when  the  two  powers  met  in  decisive  conflict. 

By  this  time  Theodore  Lascari^.  had  been  succeeded 
in  Asia  by  his  son-in-law  John  Ducas,^  and  Theodore 
of  Thessalonica  by  his  son  John  Angelus.  At 
Constantinople  the  succession  of  Latin  emperors  had 
been  much  more  rapid.  Henry  of  Flanders  had  died 
in  1216  ;  he  was  followed  by  Peter  of  Courtenay,  who 

*  Sometimes  known  as  Jolin  Vatatzes. 


JOHN    VATATZES    CONQUERS    THRACE.  3OI 

was  slain  by  the  Epirots  in  less  than  a  year.  To  him 
succeeded  Robert  his  son,  and  when  Robert  died  in 
1228  his  brother  Baldwin  IL,  reigned  in  his  stead. 
The  young  Courtenays  were  both  thoroughly  in- 
capable, and  saw  their  empire  melt  away  from  them 
till  nothing  was  left  beyond  the  walls  of  Constan- 
tinople itself. 

John  III.  of  Nicaea  was  an  excellent  sovereign,  a 
very  worthy  heir  to  his  gallant  father-in-law.  Not 
only  was  he  a  good  soldier  and  an  able  administrator, 
but  by  constant  supervision  and  strict  frugality  he 
had  got  the  financial  condition  of  his  empire  into  a 
more  hopeful  condition — a  state  of  things  which  had 
never  been  seen  in  Romania  since  the  time  of  John 
Comnenus,  a  hundred  years  before.  In  1230  the 
troops  of  Nicaea  crossed  into  Europe,  and  drove  the 
Franks  out  of  Southern  Thrace,  while  in  1235  John 
Ducas  laid  siege  to  Constantinople  itself  But  the 
time  of  its  fall  was  not  yet  arrived,  and  when  a 
Venetian  fleet  approached  to  succour  it  the  Emperor 
was  constrained  to  raise  the  siege. 

Recognizing  that  Constantinople  was  not  yet  ripe 
for  its  fall,  John  Ducas  resolved  to  measure  himself 
with  his  rivals  the  Angeli  of  Thessalonica.  He  beat 
their  forces  out  of  the  field,  and  laid  siege  to  their 
capital  in  1^41.  Then  John  Angelus  engaged  to 
resign  the  title  of  emperor,  call  himself  no  more  than 
"  despot  of  Epirus,*'  and  to  acknowledge  himself  as  the 
vassal  of  the  ruler  of  Nicaea.  This  satisfied  Ducas 
for  a  time,  but  when  Angelus  died,  four  years  later, 
he  seized  Thessalonica  and  united  it  to  the  imperial 
crown.     The  heir  of  the  Angeli  escaped  to  Albania 


USURPATION   OF   MICHAEL   PALEOLOGUS.        303 

and  succeeded  in  retaining  a  small  fraction  only  of 
his  ancestral  dominions  [1246]. 

John  Ducas  died  in  1254,  leaving  the  throne  of 
Nicaea  to  his  son  Theodore  II.,  who  bid  fair  to 
continue  the  prosperous  career  of  his  father  and 
grandfather.  He  drove  the  Bulgarians  out  of 
Macedonia,  and  penned  the  Albanians  into  their 
hills.  But  he  became  subject  to  epileptic  fits,  and  died 
after  a  reign  of  only  four  years,  before  he  had  reached 
the  age  of  thirty-eight  [1258]. 

This  was  a  dreadful  misfortune  for  the  empire,  for 
John  Ducas,  the  son  and  heir  of  Theodore,  was  a  child 
of  eight  years,  and  minorities  were  always  disastrous 
to  the  state.  We  have  seen  in  the  history  of  previous 
centuries  how  frequently  the  infancy  of  a  prince  led 
to  a  violent  contest  for  the  place  of  regent,  or  even  to 
a  usurpation  of  the  throne.  The  case  of  John  IV. 
was  no  exception  to  the  rule  ;  the  ministers  of  his 
father  fought  and  intrigued  to  gain  possession  of  the 
helm  of  affairs,  till  at  last  an  able  and  unprincipled 
general,  named  Michael  Paleologus,  thrusting  himself 
to  the  front,  was  named  tutor  to  the  Emperor,  and 
given  the  title  of  "  Despot." 

Michael  was  as  ambitious  as  he  was  unscrupulous. 
The  place  of  regent  was  far  from  satisfying  his 
ambition,  and  he  determined  to  seize  the  throne, 
though  he  had  steeped  himself  to  the  lips  in  oaths  of 
loyalty  to  his  young  master.  He  played  much  the 
same  game  that  Richard  HI.  was  destined  to  repeat 
in  England  two  centuries  later.  He  cleared  away 
from  the  capital  the  relatives  and  adherents  of  the 
little   prince,  placed    creatures   of  his  own    in    their 


304    THE   LATIN   EMPIRE   AND   EMPIRE    OF   NICAEA. 

places,  and  conciliated  the  cler^^y  by  large  gifts  and 
hypocritical  piety.  Presently  the  partisans  of  Michael 
began  to  declaim  against  the  dangers  of  a  minority, 
and  the  necessity  for  a  strong  hand  at  the  helm. 
After  much  persuasion  and  mock  reluctance  the 
regent  was  induced  to  allow  himself  to  be  crowned. 
From  that  moment  the  boy  John  Ducas  was  thrust 
aside  and  ignored  :  ere  he  had  reached  the  age  of  ten 
his  wicked  guardian  put  out  his  eyes  and  plunged 
him  into  a  dungeon,  where  he  spent  thirty  years  in 
darkness  and  misery. 

The  usurpation  of  Michael  tempted  all  the  enemies 
of  the  Greek  Empire  to  take  arms.  The  Epirot 
despot  allied  himself  with  the  Frankish  lords  of 
Greece,  and  their  united  armies,  aided  by  auxiliaries 
from  Italy,  invaded  Macedonia  ;  moreover  the  Latin 
emperor  of  Constantinople  stirred  up  the  Venetians 
to  ravage  his  neighbours'  borders.  But  in  1260  the 
troops  of  Michael  won,  over  the  allied  armies  of  the 
Franks  and  Epirots,  the  last  great  victory  that  a 
Byzantine  army  was  ever  destined  to  achieve.  The 
field  of  Pelagonia  decided  the  lot  of  the  house  of 
Paleologus,  for  Michael's  enemies  were  so  crushed 
that  they  could  never  afterwards  make  head  against 
him. 

Freed  from  all  danger  from  the  West,  Michael  was 
now  able  to  turn  against  Constantinople,  and  complete 
the  reconstruction  of  the  empire.  The  city  was  ripe 
for  its  fall,  and  Baldwin  of  Courtenay  had  long  been 
awaiting  his  doom. 

The  long  reign  of  the  last  Latin  sovereign  of 
Constantinople    is    sufficiently   characterized    by  the 


THE   FRANKS   DRIVEN   FROM   CONSTANTINOPLE.    305 

fact  that  Baldwin  spent  nearly  half  the  years  of  his 
rule  outside  the  bounds  of  Romania,  as  he  wandered 
from  court  to  court  in  the  West,  striving  to  stir  up 
some  champion  who  would  deliver  him  from  the 
inevitable  destruction  impending  over  his  realm.  He 
gained  little  by  his  tours,  his  greatest  success  being 
that,  in  1244,  he  got  from  St.  Louis  a  considerable 
sum  of  ready  money  in  acknowledgment  of  the 
liberality  with  which  he  had  presented  the  holy  king 
with  a  choice  selection  of  relics,  including  the  rod  of 
Moses,  the  jawbone  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  our 
Lord's  crown  of  thorns. 

In  1261  Baldwin  was  in  worse  straits  than  ever. 
He  was  stripping  off  the  lead  of  his  own  palace  roof 
to  sell  it  for  a  few  zecchins  to  the  Venetians,  and 
burning  the  beams  of  his  outhouses  in  default  of 
money  to  buy  fuel.  His  son  and  heir  w^as  in  pawn  to 
the  Venetian  banking  firm  of  the  Capelli,  who  had 
taken  him  as  the  only  tangible  security  that  could  be' 
found  for  a  modest  loan  which  they  had  advanced  to 
the  imperial  exchequer.  With  the  government  in 
such  a  desperate  condition  there  was  no  longer  any 
power  of  resistance  left  in  Constantinople.  When 
the  Venetian  fleet,  the  sole  remaining  defence  of  the/ 
empire,  was  away  at  sea,  the  city  fell  before  a  sudden 
and  unpremeditated  attack,  made  by  Alexius  Strate- 
gopulus,  commander  in  Thrace  under  the  emperor 
Michael. 

Alexius,  with  eight  hundred  regular  troops  and  a 
few  scores  of  half-armed  volunteers,  was  admitted  by 
treachery  within  the  walls.  Before  this  formidable 
array  the  heirs  of  the  Crusaders  fled  in  base  dismay, 


506    THE   LATIN   EMPIRE   AND    EMPIRE    OF  NICAEA. 

and  the  Empire  of  Romania  came  to  an  inglorious 
and  a  well-deserved  end. 

Its  monarch  resumed  hi.'?  habitual  mendicant  tours 
in  Western  Europe,  and  never  ceased  to  besiege  the 
ears  of  popes  and  kings  with  demands  for  aid  to 
recover  his  lost  realm.  At  last  Baldwin  passed  away  : 
his  sole  memorial  is  the  fact  that  he  made  a  distressed 
and  itinerant  emperor  in  search  of  a  champion,  one 
of  the  stock  figures  in  the  Romances  of  his  day.  No 
one  in  Western  Europe  was  ignorant  of  his  tale,  and 
he  survives  as  the  prototype  of  the  dispossessed 
sovereigns  of  fifty  legends  of  chivalry. 


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XXIV. 

DECLINE  AND  DECAY. 

(1261-I328.) 

There  was  now  once  more  a  Byzantine  empire, 
and  to  an  unobservant  reader  the  history  of  the 
reigns  of  the  Paleologi  looks  Hke  the  natural  con- 
tinuation and  sequel  of  the  history  of  the  reigns  of 
Isaac  Angelus  and  his  brother.  If  the  annals  of 
Michael  VIII.  and  his  son  were  written  on  to  the  end 
of  that  of  Alexius  Angelus,  the  intervening  gap  of 
the  Latin  Conquest  might  almost  pass  unperceived, 
and  the  reader  might  imagine  that  he  was  investi- 
gating a  single  continuous  course  of  events.  The 
Frank  dominion  at  Constantinople,  and  the  heroic 
episode  of  the  Empire  of  Nicaea,  would  pass  equally 
unnoticed. 

We  need  not  insist  on  the  perniciousness  of  such 
a  view.  Great  as  may  seem  the  similarity  of  the 
Byzantine  Empire  of  1204,  and  that  of  1270,  it  had 
really  suffered  an  entire  transformation  in  that  period. 
To  commence  by  the  most  obvious  and  external  sign 
of  change,  it  will  be  observed  that  the  lands  subject 


308  DECLINE   AND   DECAY. 

to  Michael  Paleologus  were  far  more  limited  in 
extent  than  those  which  had  obeyed  Alexius  A  .^elus. 
The  loss  in  Asia  was  less  than  might  have  been 
expected  :  Theodore  Lascaris  and  John  Ducas  had 
kept  back  the  Turk,  and  only  two  districts  of  no  great 
extent  had  fallen  into  Moslem  hands — the  Pisidian 
coast  with  the  seaport  of  Adalia  on  the  south,  and 
the  Paphlagonian  coast  with  the  seaport  of  Sinope 
on  the  north.  Besides  these  the  distant  Pontic  pro- 
vince had  now  become  the  empire  of  Trebizond. 

In  Europe  the  loss  was  far  more  serious:  four  great 
blocks  of  territory  had  been  lost  for  ever.  The  first 
was  a  slip  along  the  southern  slope  of  the  Balkans,  in 
Northern  Thrace  and  Macedonia  which  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  Bulgarians,  and  become  com- 
pletely Slavonized.  The  second  was  the  district 
which  is  represented  by  the  modern  land  of 
Albania.  When  the  Angeli  of  Thessalonica  fell  be- 
fore John  Ducas,  a  youngef  member  of  the  house 
retired  to  the  original  mountain  house  of  the  dynasty, 
and  preserved  the  independence  of  the  "  Dcspotate 
of  Epirus."  Here  the  AngeU  survived  for  some 
generations,  maintaining  themselves  against  the 
Emperors  of  Constantinople  by  a  strict  alliance  with 
the  Latin  princes  of  Southern  Greece. 

Next  in  the  list  of  Old-Byzantine  territories  which 
Michael  never  recovered,  \vc  must  place  Greece 
proper,  now  divided  between  the  Princes  of  Achaia, 
of  the  house  of  Villchardouin,  and  the  Briennes,  who 
had  succeeded  to  the  Duchy  of  Athens.  But  the 
Palcologi  still  retained  a  considerable  slice  of  the 
Peloponnesus,   and    were   destined    to   encroach   ere 


WEAKNESS   OF   THE   RESTORED   EMPIRE.      309 

long  on  their  Prankish  neighbours.  Lastly,  we  must 
men'on  the  islands  of  the  Aegean,  of  which  the  large 
majority  were  held  either  by  the  Venetian  govern- 
ment, or  by  Venetian  adventurers,  who  ruled  as 
independent  lords,  but  subordinated  their  policy  to 
that  of  their  native  state. 

But  the  territorial  difference  between  the  empire 
of  1204  and  the  empire  of  1261  was  only  one 
of  the  causes  which  crippled  the  realm  of  the 
Paleologi.  Bad  though  the  internal  government 
of  the  dominions  of  Alexius  III.  had  been,  there 
was  still  then  some  hope  of  recovery.  The  old 
traditions  of  East-Roman  administrative  economy, 
^^hough  neglected,  were  not  lost,  and  might  have 
been  revived  by  an  emperor  who  had  a  keen  eye  to 
discover  ability  and  a  ready  hand  to  reward  merit. 
New  blood  in  the  personnel  of  the  ministry,  and  a 
keen  supervision  of  details  by  the  master's  eye,  would 
have  produced  an  improvement  in  the  state  of  the 
empire,  though  any  permanent  restoration  of  strength 
was  probably  made  impossible  by  the  deep-seated 
decay  of  society.  But  by  the  time  of  Michael 
Paleologus  even  amelioration  had  become  impos- 
sible. The  three  able  emperors  who  reigned  at 
Nicaea,  though  they  had  preserved  their  indepen- 
dence against  Turk  and  Frank,  had  utterly  failed  in 
restoring  administrative  efficiency  in  their  provinces. 
John  Vatatzes,  himself  a  thrifty  monarch,  who  could 
even  condescend  to  poultry-farming  to  fill  his  modest 
exchequer,  found  that  all  his  efforts  to  protect  native 
industry  could  not  cause  the  dried-up  springs  of 
prosperity  to  flow  again.    The  whole  fiscal  and  adminis- 


3IO  DECLINE   AND   DECAY. 

trative  machinery  of  government  had  been  thrown 
hopelessly  out  of  gear. 

It  was  the  commercial  decline  of  the  empire  that 
made  a  reform  of  the  administration  so  hopeless. 
The  Paleologi  were  never  able  to  reassert  the  old 
dominion  over  the  seas  which  had  made  their  prede- 
cessors the  arbiters  of  the  trade  of  Christendom.  The 
wealth  of  the  elder  Byzantine  Empire  had  arisen  from 
the  fact  that  Constantinople  was  the  central  em- 
porium of  the  trade  of  the  civilized  world.  All  the 
caravan  routes  from  Syria  and  Persia  converged 
thither.  Thither,  too,  had  come  by  sea  the  commodi- 
ties of  Egypt  and  the  Euxine.  All  the  Eastern  pro- 
ducts which  Europe  might  require  had  to  be  sought 
in  the  storehouses  of  Constantinople,  and  for  centuries 
the  nations  of  the  West  had  been  contented  to  go 
thither  for  them.  But  the  Crusades  had  shaken  this 
monopoly,  when  they  taught  the  Italians  to  seek  the 
hitherto  unknown  parts  of  Syria  and  Egypt,  and 
buy  their  Eastern  merchandize  from  the  producer 
and  not  from  the  middleman.  Acre  and  Alexandria 
had  already  profited  very  largely  at  the  expense  of 
Constantinople  ere  the  Byzantine  Empire  was  upset 
in  1204.  But  the  Latin  conquest  was  the  fatal  blow. 
It  threw  the  control  of  the  trade  of  the  Bosphorus 
into  the  hands  of  the  Venetians,  and  the  Venetians 
had  no  desire  to  make  Constantinople  their  one 
central  mart:  they  were  just  as  ready  to  trade  through 
the  Syrian  and  Egyptian  ports.  To  them  the  city 
was  no  more  than  an  important  half-way  house  for 
the  Black  Sea  trade,  and  an  emporium  for  the  local 
produce  of  the  countries  round  the  Sea  of  Marmora. 


COMMERCIAL   DECAY.  3II 

From  1204  onward  Italy  rather  than  Constantinople 
became  the  centre  and  starting-place  for  all  European 
trade,  and  the  great  Italian  republics  employed  all 
their  vigilance  to  prevent  the  Greek  fleet  from  re- 
covering its  old  strength.  Henceforth  the  Byzantine 
war-navy  was  insignificant,  and  without  a  war-navy 
the  Paleologi  could  not  drive  away  the  intruders  and 
restore  the  free  navigation  of  the  Levant  to  their  own 
mercantile  marine. 

The  emperors  who  succeeded  each  other  on  the 
restored  throne  of  Constantinople  were,  without  ex- 
ception, men  more  fitted  to  lose  than  to  hold  together 
an  exhausted  and  impoverished  empire.  Their  lot 
was  cast,  it  is  true,  in  hard  times  ;  but  hardly  one  of 
them  showed  a  spark  of  ability  or  courage  in  endea- 
vouring to  face  the  evil  day.  The  three  monarchs  of 
the  house  of  Lascaris  who  ruled  at  Nicaea  had  been 
keen  soldiers  and  competent  administrators,  but  with 
the  return  of  the  emperors  to  Constantinople  the 
springs  of  energy  began  to  dry  up,  and  the  gloom 
and  decay  of  the  ruined  capital  seemed  to  affect  the 
spirit  and  brain  of  its  rulers. 

Michael  Paleologus,  though  it  was  his  fortune  to 
recover  the  city  which  his  abler  predecessors  had 
failed  to  take,  was  a  mere  wily  intriguer,  not  a  states- 
man or  general.  Having  usurped  the  throne  by  the 
basest  treachery  towards  his  infant  sovereign,  he 
always  feared  for  himself  a  similar  fate.  Suspicion 
and  cruelty  were  his  main  characteristics,  and  in  his 
care  for  his  own  person  he  quite  forgot  the  interests 
of  the  State.  Even  contemporary  chroniclers  saw 
that  he  was  deliberately  setting  himself  to  weaken 


BYZANTINE   CMAPEL   AT    ANI,    THE   OLD    CAPITAL   OF   ARMENIA. 

{From '■''  V  Art  Byzantin''     Par  Charles  Bayct.     Paris,  Quantin,  1883.) 


RISE   OF   THE   OTTOMAN   TURKS.  313 

the  empire,  because  he  dreaded  the  resentment  of  his 
subjects.  He  disbanded  nearly  all  the  native  Greek 
troops,  and  refrained  as  far  as  possible  from  employ- 
ing Greek  generals. 

One  of  his  minor  acts  in  this  direction  may  be  said 
to  have  been  the  original  circumstance  which  set  the 
Ottoman  Turks,  the  future  bane  of  the  empire,  on 
their  career  of  conquest.  The  borders  of  the  empire 
in  Asia  were  defended  by  a  native  militia,  who  held 
their  lands  under  condition  of  defending  the  castles 
and  passes  of  the  Bithynian  and  Phrygian  mountains. 
The  institution,  which  somewhat  resembled  a  simple 
form  of  European  feudalism,  had  worked  so  well  that 
the  Byzantine  Empire  had  for  a  century  and  a  half 
kept  its  Asiatic  frontier  practically  intact,  in  spite  of 
all  the  pressure  of  the  Seljouk  Turks  of  the  Sultanate 
of  Iconium.  But  the  Bithynian  militia  were  known 
to  be  attached  to  the  house  of  Ducas,  which  Michael 
had  dethroned,  and  he  therefore  resolved  to  disarm 
them.  The  measure  was  carried  out,  not  without 
bloodshed,  but  the  disbanded  levy  were  not  replaced 
by  any  adequate  number  of  regular  troops.  Michael's 
financial  straits  did  not  permit  him  to  keep  under 
armis  a  very  large  force,  such  as  was  required  to 
garrison  his  eastern  line  of  forts  after  the  abolition 
of  the  previous  machinery  of  defence.  Ten  years 
only  before  Othman,  the  father  of  the  Ottoman 
Turks,  succeeded  to  the  petty  principality  which  was 
destined  to  be  the  nucleus  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  the 
way  for  him  had  been  thrown  open  by  Michael's 
suspicious  disarmament  of  the  guards  of  his  own 
frontier. 


314  DECLINE   AND  DECAY. 

Michael  lived  for  twenty-one  years  after  the  re- 
covery of  Constantinople,  but  he  did  not  win  a  single 
important  advantage  in  all  the  rest  of  his  reign.  In 
Europe  he  barely  held  his  own  against  the  Bulgarians, 
the  Franks,  and  the  fleets  of  Genoa  and  Venice. 
The  troubles  which  befell  him  at  the  hands  of  the  two 
naval  powers  were  largely  of  his  own  creation,  for  he 
shifted  his  alliance  from  one  to  the  other  with  such 
levity  and  suddenness  that  both  regarded  him  as 
unfriendly.  Though  all  through  his  reign  he  was  at 
war  either  with  Genoa  or  Venice,  )'et  such  was  the 
distrust  felt  for  him  that,  when  at  war  with  one  of  the 
rivals,  he  could  not  always  secure  the  help  of  the  other. 
Venice  had  been  the  mainstay  of  the  Frank  emperors 
of  Constantinople,  and  Michael  might,  therefore,  have 
been  expected  to  remain  staunch  to  the  Genoese. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Genoese  had  designs  on  the 
Black  Sea  trade,  which  touched  the  Emperor's  pocket 
very  closely,  while  the  Venetians  were  more  con- 
nected with  the  distant  commerce  of  S}Tia  and 
Egypt,  which  did  not  concern  him.  Balancing  one 
consideration  with  the  other,  Michael  played  false  to 
both  the  powers,  and  often  saw  his  coast  ravaged  and 
his  small  fleet  compelled  to  take  refuge  in  the  Golden 
Horn,  while  the  enemy's  vessels  swept  the  seas.  On 
land  he  was  less  unlucky,  and  the  Duke  of  Athens 
and  the  despot  of  Epirus  were  both  kept  in  check, 
though  neither  of  them  were  subdued. 

But  it  was  in  Asia  that  Michael's  rule  was  most 
unfortunate.  In  the  second  half  of  his  reign  the 
Seljouks,  though  split  into  several  principalities  owing 
to  the  break  up  of  the  Sultanate  of  Iconium,  united 


TURKISH    WARS   OF  ANDRONICUS  II.  3I5 

to  assail  the  borders  of  the  empire.  They  conquered 
the  Carian  and  Lydian  inland,  though  Tralles  and 
several  other  towns  made  a  vigorous  resistance,  and 
reduced  Michael's  dominion  in  South-western  Asia 
Minor  to  a  mere  strip  along  the  coast.  A  similar 
fate  befell  Eastern  Bithynia,  where  the  Turks  forced 
their  way  as  far  as  the  river  Sangarius. 

But  the  ruin  of  Byzantine  Asia  was  reserved  to  fall 
into  the  times  of  Michael's  son  and  successor,  Andro- 
nicus  II.  This  prince  had  all  the  faults  of  his  father, 
levity,  perfidy,  and  cruelty,  with  others  added  from 
which  Michael  had  been  free — cowardice  and  super- 
stition. The  main  interest  which  Andronicus  took 
in  life  was  concerned  with  things  ecclesiastical — it 
would  be  wrong  to  say  things  religious — and  he 
spent  his  life  in  making  and  unmaking  patriarchs  of 
Constantinople.  No  prelate  could  bear  with  him 
long,  and  in  the  course  of  his  reign  he  deposed  np 
less  than  nine  of  them. 

While  Andronicus  was  quarrelling  with  his  patri- 
archs the  empire  was  going  to  ruin.  The  Seljouk 
chiefs  from  the  plateau  of  Asia  Minor  were  pressing 
down  more  and  more  towards  the  coast,  and  making 
their  way  to  the  very  gates  of  Ephesus  and  Smyrna. 
At  last  the  emperor,  growing  seriously  alarmed  when 
the  Turks  appeared  on  the  shores  of  the  Propontis 
itself,  and  threatened  the  walls  of  Nicaea  and  Prusa, 
resolved  to  make  an  unwonted  effort  to  beat  them 
back. 

In  1 302  the  long  war  of  the  "  Sicilian  Vespers " 
between  the  houses  of  Anjou  and  Aragon  came  to  an 
end,   and   the  hordes   of  mercenaries    of  all    nations 


ROGER   DE   FLOR,  317 

which  the  two  pretenders  to  the  crown  of  Sicily  had 
maintained  were  turned  loose  on  the  world.  It 
occurred  to  Andronicus  that  he  might  hire  enough  of 
the  veterans  of  the  Sicilian  war  to  enable  him  to  beat 
back  the  Turks  into  their  hills.  All  Europe  acknow- 
ledged that  they  were  the  hardiest  and  best-disciplined 
troops  in  Christendom,  though  they  were  also  the 
most  cruel  and  lawless.  Accordingly  the  emperor 
applied  to  Roger  de  Flor,  a  renegade  Templar,  the 
commander  of  the  mercenaries  who  had  served 
Frederic  of  Aragon,  and  offered  to  take  him  into  his 
service,  with  as  many  of  his  followers  as  could  be 
induced  to  accompany  him.  Roger  accepted  with 
alacrity,  and  came  to  Constantinople  in  1303  with 
6,000  men  at  his  back  ;  other  bodies  were  soon  to 
follow.  Andronicus  loaded  the  "  Grand  Company," 
as  Roger  de  Flor  styled  his  men,  with  unlimited 
promises,  and  a  certain  amount  of  ready  money. 
Roger  himself  was  given  the  title  of  "  Grand  Duke," 
and  married  to  a  lady  of  the  imperial  house.  After 
clearing  the  Turks  out  of  the  Bithynian  coast-land 
the  "Grand  Company"  spent  the  winter  of  1 303-4 
in  free  quarters  along  the  southern  coast  of  Propontis. 
Their  plundering  habits  and  their  arrogance  soon 
brought  them  into  ill  odour  with  the  inhabitants,  who 
complained  that  they  were  well-nigh  as  great  a  curse 
as  the  Turks.  In  the  next  year  Roger  moved  south 
with  his  host,  and  drove  the  Turks  out  of  Lydia  and 
Caria  ;  but  instead  of  putting  the  emperor  into  pos- 
session of  the  reconquered  land,  he  garrisoned  every 
fbrtress  with  his  own  men,  and  raised  and  appro- 
priated the  imperial  taxes,     There  can  be  little  doubt 


3l8  DECLINE   AND   DECAY. 

that  he  was  plotting  to  seize  on  the  provinces  he  had 
regained,  and  to  reign  at  Ephesus  as  an  independent 
prince.  At  last  Roger  went  so  far  as  to  lay  formal 
siege  to  Philadelphia,  because  its  inhabitants  preferred 
to  obey  orders  from  Constantinople,  and  would  not 
admit  him  within  their  gates.  Andronicus  then  lured 
him  to  an  interview  at  Adrianople,  and  in  his  very 
presence  the  great  con  dot  Here  was  assassinated  by 
George  the  Alan,  an  officer  whose  son  had  been  slain 
in  a  brawl  by  Roger's  soldiers.  The  Emperor  had 
probably  arranged  the  murder,  and  certainly  refused 
to  arrest  its  perpetrator  [1307]. 

He  was  promptly  punished.  The  "  Grand  Com- 
pany"  was  not  disorganized  by  the  loss  of  its  leader, 
and  thought  of  nothing  but  revenge.  Assembhng 
themselves  in  haste,  and  abandoning  Asia  Minor  to 
the  Turks,  they  marched  on  Constantinople,  harrying 
the  land  far  and  wide  with  fiendish  cruelty.  The 
Emperor  sent  his  son  Michael  against  them,  but  the 
young  prince  was  disgracefully  beaten  in  two  fights 
at  Gallipoli  and  Apros,  and  the  mercenaries  spread 
themselves  all  over  Thrace  and  plundered  it  up  to 
the  gates  of  the  capital.  It  almost  looked  as  if  a 
second  Latin  Conquest  of  Constantinople  was  about 
to  take  place,  for  the  leaders  of  the  "  Grand  Company  " 
got  succour  from  Europe,  raised  a  corps  of  Turkish 
auxiliaries,  and  occupied  Thrace  for  two  years.  But 
they  could  not  storm  the  walls  of  Constantinople 
or  Adrianople,  and  at  last,  after  two  years  of  plunder- 
ing, they  had  stripped  the  country  so  bare  that  they 
were  driven  away  by  famine.  Drifting  southward 
and  westward  they  ravaged  Macedon  and  Thessal}-, 


ASIA    MINOR   LOST.  319 

and  at  last  reached  Greece.  Here  they  fell  into  a 
quarrel  with  Walter  de  Brienne,  Duke  of  Athens, 
slew  him  in  battle  and  took  his  capital.  Then  at 
last  did  the  wandering  horde  settle  down  ;  they 
seized  the  duchy,  divided  its  fiefs  among  themselves, 
and  established  a  new  dynasty  on  the  Athenian 
throne.  The  empire  was  at  last  quit  of  them,  for 
when  once  they  ceased  to  wander  the  "  Grand  Com- 
pany "  ceased  to  be  dangerous. 

This  disastrous  war  with  the  mercenaries  not  only 
ruined  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  but  was  the  cause  of 
the  final  loss  of  the  Byzantine  provinces  of  Asia 
Minor.  While  Andronicus  was  feebly  attempting  to 
cope  with  the  "  Grand  Company,"  the  Seljouk  chiefs 
had  conquered  Lydia  and  Phrygia  once  more,  and 
then  advanced  yet  further  north  to  siege  Mysia  and 
Bithynia.  By  1325  they  had  reduced  the  Emperor's 
dominions  on  the  east  of  the  straits  to  a  narrow  strip, 
reaching  from  the  Dardanelles  to  the  northern  exit  of 
the  Bosphorus,  and  bounded  by  the  Bithynian  hills  to 
the  south.  Five  Seljouk  leaders  had  carved  out  for 
themselves  principalities  in  the  conquered  districts, 
Menteshe  in  the  south,  Aidin  and  Saroukhan  in 
Lydia,  Karasi  in  Mysia,  and  in  the  Bithynian  border- 
land Othman,  destined  to  a  fame  very  different  from 
that  of  his  long-forgotten  compeers. 

While  Othman  and  the  rest  were  turning  the  once 
thickly-peopled  countries  of  Western  Asia  Minor  into 
a  desert  sparsely  inhabited  by  wandering  nomads, 
Andronicus  11.  was  busied  in  a  war  even  more  un- 
called for  than  that  with  the  mercenaries.  He 
ivished  to  exclude  from  the  succession  to  the  throne 


320 


DECLINE   AND    DECAY. 


his  grandson  and  heir,  who  bore  the  same  name  as 
himself.  But  the  younger  Andronicus  took  measures 
to  defend  his  rights,  and  raised  armed  bands.  Grand- 
father and  grandson  were  ere  long  engaged  in  a  long 
but  feebly-conducted  war,  which  was  only  terminated 
in  1328,  when  the  old  man  acknowledged  Andronicus 
the  younger  as  his  heir,  and  made  him  his  colleague 
on  the  throne.  But  his  grandson,  not  contented  with 
this  measure  of  success,  made  him  retire  from  the 
conduct  of  affairs,  and  assumed  control  over  every 
function  of  government.  The  name  of  Andronicus 
II.  was  still  associated  with  that  of  Andronicus  III. 
on  the  coinage  and  in  the  public  prayers,  but  he  took 
no  further  part  in  the  rule  of  the  empire.  In  1332 
he  died,  at  a  good  old  age,  lamented  by  no  single 
individual  in  the  realm  which  he  had  ruled  for  fifty 
years.  At  his  death  the  empire  was  only  two-thirds 
of  the  size  that  it  had  been  at  his  accession. 


XXV. 

THE  TURKS  IN   EUROPE. 

AndrONICUS  III.  was  a  shade  better  than  the 
incapable  old  man  whom  he  supplanted.  Though 
he  was  given — like  all  his  house — to  treachery  and 
deceit,  and  though  his  life  was  loose  and  luxurious, 
he  was  at  any  rate  active  and  energetic.  He  may  be 
described  as  a  weak  reflection  or  copy  of  Manuel 
Comnenus,  being  a  mighty  hunter,  a  bold  spear  both 
in  the  tournament  and  on  the  battle-field,  and  a  great 
spender  of  money.  If  he  had  not  the  brains  to  keep 
his  empire  together,  he  at  any  rate  fought  his  best, 
and  did  not  sit  apathetically  at  home  like  his  grand- 
father while  everything  was  going  to  rack  and  ruin. 

Nevertheless,  Andronicus  III.  was  destined  to  see 
the  termination  of  the  process  which  had  begun  under 
Andronicus  II. — the  entire  loss  of  the  Asiatic  provinces 
of  the  empire  to  the  Turks.  It  was  now  with  the 
Ottomans  almost  exclusively  that  he  had  to  deal  ;  the 
other  Seljouk  hordes  had  no  longer  any  marchland 
along  the  shrunken  frontier  of  his  dominions. 

These  new  foes  of  the  empire  deserve  a  word  of 
description.      Othman,  the  son  of  Ertogrul,  was   a 


322  THE   TURKS  IN   EUROPE. 

vassal  of  the  Seljouk  Sultan  of  Roum,  who  had  been 
granted  a  tract  in  the  Phrygian  highlands  under  the 
condition  of  military  service  against  the  Greeks.  His 
fief  lay  in  the  north-west  angle  of  the  great  central 
plateau  of  Asia  Minor.  Behind  it  lay  the  rolling 
country  of  hills  and  uplands  already  occupied  by  the 
Seljouks.  Before  it  were  the  Bithynian  mountains, 
with  their  passes  protected  by  forts,  and  garrisoned 
by  local  militia,  till  the  day  when  they  were  so  per- 
versely stripped  of  their  defenders  by  the  action  of 
Michael  Paleologus.  Othman,  and  his  father  Ertogrul 
before  him,  owned  nothing  in  the  hills,  nor  could  they 
have  pushed  on  if  Michael  had  not  made  the  way 
easy  for  them.  But  after  1270  the  native  militia  was 
gone,  and  the  followers  of  Othman,  instead  of  having 
to  face  an  armed  population,  fighting  to  protect  its 
own  fields,  found  to  oppose  them  only  inadequate 
garrisons  of  regular  troops  at  long  intervals. 

Othman's  life  covered  two  series  of  great  events, 
the  disastrous  reign  of  Andronicus  II.  at  Constanti- 
nople, and  in  Asia  Minor  the  no  less  disastrous 
break-up  of  the  power  of  his  own  suzerain,  the  Sultan 
of  Roum.  In  1294,  Gaiaseddin,  the  last  undisputed 
sovereign  of  the  Seljouk  line,  fell  in  battle  against 
rebels  ;  and  in  1307,  Alaeddin  III.,  the  last  prince  who 
claimed  to  be  supreme  Sultan,  died  in  exile.  This 
made  Othman  an  independent  prince  ;  but  he  did 
not  take  the  title  of  Sultan,  contenting  himself  with 
the  humbler  name  of  Emir. 

Othman's  field  of  operation  from  1 281  to  1326 
was  the  Byzantine  borderland  of  Bithynia  and  Mysia. 
He  was  by  no  means  the  strongest  of  the  Seljouk 


ORKHAN    THE    TURK.  323 

cliiefs  who  made  a  lodgement  within  the  borders  of 
tlie  empire,  and  it  took  him  twenty  years  before  he 
conquered  one  large  town.  His  wild  horsemen  harried 
the  open  sea-coast  plain  of  Bithynia  again  and 
again,  till  at  last  the  wretched  inhabitants  emigrated, 
or  acknowledged  him  as  their  sovereign.  But  the 
towns,  within  their  strong  Roman  walls,  were  unassail- 
able by  the  light  cavalry  which  formed  his  only  armed 
strength.  The  siege  of  Prusa  [Broussa],  the  capital 
and  key  of  the  region,  lasted  ten  years.  The  Turks 
built  a  chain  of  forts  around  it  and  gradually  made 
the  introduction  of  provisions  more  and  more  difficult, 
till  at  last  a  large  force  was  required  to  march  out 
every  time  that  a  convoy  was  expected.  At  length  the 
inhabitants  could  find  no  advantage  in  spending  their 
whole  lives  in  a  beleaguered  town  undergoing  slow 
starvation.  Prusa  surrendered  in  1326,  and  Othman 
heard  of  the  news  on  his  death-bed.  The  Turkish 
frontier  now  once  again  touched  the  Sea  of  Marmora, 
which  it  had  not  reached  since  the  Crusaders  thrust  it 
back  inland  in  1097. 

The  reign  of  Othman's  son  Orkhan,  the  second 
Emir  of  the  Ottomans,  almost  coincided  with  that  of 
Andronicus  III.  All  that  the  one  lost  the  other 
gained.  Orkhan's  life-work  was  the  completion  of 
the  conquest  of  Bithynia,  which  his  father  had  begun. 
He  took  Nicomedia  in  1327  and  Nicaea  in  1333,  with 
all  the  surrounding  territory,  so  that  Andronicus 
retained  nothing  but  Chalcedon  and  the  district 
immediately  facing  Constantinople  beyond  the  Bos- 
phorus.  Only  once  did  he  have  to  meet  the  Emperor 
in  pitched  battle  ;  this  was  at  the  fight  of  Pelekanon 


324  THE    TURKS   IN    EUROPE. 

in  1329.  Andronicus  was  wounded  early  in  the  day, 
and  his  army,  depriv^ed  of  its  leader  went  to  pieces 
and  was  severely  beaten.  After  his  recovery  from  his 
wounds  the  Emperor  never  faced  the  Ottomans 
again. 

After  conquering  Bithynia,  Orkhan  subdued  his 
nearest  neighbours  among  the  other  Seljouk  Emirs, 
and  then  turned  to  organizing  his  state.  This  was 
the  date  of  the  institution  of  his  famous  corps  of  the 
Janissaries,  the  first  steady  infantry  that  any  Eastern 
power  had  ever  possessed.  He  imposed  on  his 
Christian  subjects  in  Mysia  and  Bithynia  a  tribute, 
not  of  money,  but  of  male  children.  The  boys  were 
taken  over  while  v^ery  young,  placed  in  barracks, 
educated  in  the  strictest  and  most  fanatical  Moslem 
code,  and  trained  to  the  profession  of  arms.  Having 
light  horse  enough  and  to  spare,  Orkhan  taught  the 
Janissaries  to  fight  on  foot  with  bow  and  sabre. 
They  were  well  drilled,  and  moved  in  compact  masses, 
which  for  many  ages  no  foe  proved  competent  to 
sunder  and  disperse.  So  thorough  was  the  physical 
and  moral  discipline  to  which  the  Janissaries  were 
subjected,  that  it  was  almost  unknown  for  one  o(  them 
to  turn  back  from  his  career  and  relapse  into  Chris- 
tianity. To  keep  them  firm  in  their  allegiance  there 
acted  not  only  the  military  and  conventual  discipline 
to  which  they  were  subject,  but  the  dazzling  prospect 
of  future  greatness.  The  Ottoman  sovereigns  made  it 
their  rule  to  select  their  generals  and  governors,  their 
courtiers  and  personal  attendants  from  the  ranks  of 
the  tribute-children.  It  was  calculated  that  more 
than  two-thirds  of  the  Grand-Viziers  of  Turkey,  in 


REVOLT   OF   CANTACUZENUS.  325 

the  fourteenth,  fifteenth,  and  sixteenth  centuries,  had 
begun  their  career  as  Janissaries. 

The  first  generation  of  the  "  New  Soldiery "  [for 
such  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  Janissary]  grew  up 
to  the  military  age  during  the  latter  half  of  the  reign 
of  Orkhan,  and  it  was  he  who  first  utilized  them  on 
the  European  shore  of  the  Bosphorus. 

Andronicus  III.  died  in  1341,  and  left  his  shrunken 
dominions  to  the  risks  of  a  minority,  for  his  son  and 
heir,  John  III.,  was  only  nine  years  of  age.  If  any- 
thing had  been  wanting  to  aid  in  the  destruction  of 
the  empire,  it  was  the  arrival  of  such  a  contingency. 
The  usual  troubles  soon  set  in,  and  the  inevitable 
civil  war  was  not  far  off. 

The  evil  spirit  of  the  time  was  John  Cantacuzenus, 
the  prime  minister  of  the  deceased  emperor.  He  was 
a  clever,  shifty,  intriguing  courtier,  with  a  turn  for 
literature,  but  had  the  abilities  neither  of  a  general  nor 
of  a  statesman.  However,  he  had  read  the  tale  of  the 
rise  of  the  Paleologi  to  some  purpose,  and  had  resolved 
to  imitate  the  career  of  Michael  VIII.  Now,  as  in 
1258,  there  was  the  best  of  chances  for  an  unscrupulous 
minister  to  make  himself  first  the  colleague  and  then 
the  supplanter  of  his  young  master.  Cantacuzenus 
did  his  best  to  repeat  the  doings  of  Michael  on 
Michael's  great-great-grandson.  He  bribed  and  in- 
trigued, made  himself  a  party  in  the  state,  and 
prepared  for  a  coup  d'etat  when  the  time  should  be 
ripe.  Unfortunately  for  himself,  Cantacuzenus  was 
not  of  the  stuff  of  which  successful  usurpers  are 
made.  He  had  his  scruples  and  superstitions,  and 
showed  a  fatal  habit  of  procrastination  which  always 


326 


THE    TURKS    IN    EUROPE. 


led  him  to  act  a  day  too  late.  The  Empress  Dowager, 
Anne  of  Savoy,  succeeded  in  raising  a  party  against 
him,  and  when  he  threw  off  the  mask  and  declared 


% 


K  loitNjcu>Tu)Otj;^t?(,ORAClA^ 
KAA/ToKTArcopf  (;MA|-nAA?(M*rop 
n-fAoJ<AT4KaVWNOG 


JOHN    CANTACUZENUS    SUTING    IN    STATK. 

{From  a  Contemporary  MS. ) 
[From  ''  VArt  Byzanttn."     Far  C.  Bayct.     Paris,  Quantm,  1883.) 

himself  emperor  he  found  himself  unable  to  seize  the 
capital,  though  he  mustered  an  army  under  its  walls. 


CONQUESTS   OF   THE   SERVIANS,  327 

Finding  that  he  was  playing  a  losing  game,  Cantacu- 
zenus  took  the  usual  step  of  calling  in  the  national 
enemy  to  aid  him.  It  was  for  the  last  time  that  this 
was  done  in  Byzantine  history,  but  never  before  had 
the  result  been  so  fatal.  The  usurper  summoned  to 
his  aid  first  Stephen  Dushan,  the  king  of  the  Servians, 
and  a  little  later  the  Turkish  princes  from  across  the 
Aegean — Orkhan  the  son  of  Othman,  and  his  rival, 
Amour,  Emir  of  Aidin. 

These  allies  kept  the  cause  of  John  Cantacuzenus 
from  destruction,  but  it  was  by  destroying  the  empire 
that  John  had  coveted.  King  Stephen  entered  Mace- 
donia and  Thrace,  and  occupied  the  whole  country- 
side, except  Thessalonica  and  a  few  other  towns. 
He  then  pushed  further  south,  conquered  Thessaly, 
and  made  the  despot  of  Epirus  do  him  homage.  The 
Byzantine  government  retained  little  more  than  the 
capital,  and  the  districts  round  Adrianople  and  Thes- 
salonica. Most  of  this  country  was  lost  for  ever  to 
the  imperial  crown,  and  it  seemed  as  if  a  Servian 
domination  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula  was  about  to 
begin,  for  Stephen  moved  south  from  Servia,  made 
Uscup  in  Macedonia  his  capital,  and  proclaimed 
himself  "  Emperor  of  the  Servians  and  Romans." 

It  would  perhaps  have  been  well  for  Christendom  . 
if  Stephen  had  actually  conquered  Constantinople  and    ] 
made  an  end  of  the  empire.     In  that  case  there  would    / 
have  been  a  single  great  power  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  / 
ready  to   meet  the  oncoming   assault  of  the   Turks.' 
But  Dushan  was  not  strong  enough  to  take  the  great 
city,  and  to  the  misfortune  of  Europe  he  died  in  1355 
leaving  a  realm  extending  from  the  Danube  to  the 


328  THE    TURKS   IN   EUROPE. 

pass  of  Thermopylae.  But  his  young  son  Urosh  was 
soon  assassinated,  and  the  Servian  Empire  broke  up 
as  rapidly  as  it  had  grown  together.  A  dozen  princes 
were  soon  scrambling  for  the  remnants  of  Stephen's 
heritage. 

The  other  allies  whom  John  Cantacuzenus  called  in 
were  the  Turks  Amour  and  Orkhan,  and  on  them  he 
depended  far  more  than  on  the  Servian.  He  took 
over  into  Thrace  a  large  body  of  Turkish  horse,  and 
allowed  them  to  harry  the  country-side  and  carry 
away  his  subjects  by  thousands,  to  be  sold  in  the 
slave-markets  of  Smyrna  and  Broussa.  But  the 
depth  of  John's  degradation  was  reached  when  he 
gave  his  daughter  Theodora  to  Orkhan,  to  be  immured 
y  in  the  Turk's  harem.  Thrace  was  rapidly  assuming 
^he  aspect  of  a  desert  under  the  incursions  of  the 
Ottoman  mercenaries  of  Cantacuzenus,  when  after 
six  years  of  war  the  party  of  the  Empress  Anne 
consented  to  recognize  the  usurper  as  the  colleague 
and  guardian  of  the  rightful  heir.  A  hollow  peace 
was  patched  up,  and  the  two  Johns  could  take  stock 
of  their  dilapidated  realm  [1347].  The  net  result  of 
their  civil  war  had  been  that  Macedonia  and  Thessaly 
were  in  Servian  hands,  and  that  Thrace  was  utterly 
ruined  by  the  Turks.  There  was  nothing  left  that 
could  be  called  an  empire  ;  all  that  remained  was 
Constantinople  and  Adrianople,  the  town  of  Thessa- 
lonica  and  the  Byzantine  province  in  the  Peloponnesus. 
Cantacuzenus  certainly  deserves  a  notable  place  by 
the  side  of  Isaac  and  Alexius  Angclus,  as  the  third  of 
the  great  destroyers  of  the  Eastern  Empire. 

But  his  evil   work  was  not  yet  done.     For  seven 


THE    TURKS   CROSS   INTO   EGYPT.  329 

years  he  ruled  in  conjunction  witk  John  Paleologtts, 
waging  an  unsuccessful  war  against  Servia  in^  the 
hopes  of  winning  back  Dushan's  conquests.  But  in 
1354  the  young  emperor,  having  attained  the  age  of 
twenty-four,  resolved  to  assert  himself,  and  took  arms 
to  dethrone  his  guardian.  Cantacuzenus  resisted, 
and  sent  over  to  Asia  for  the  troops  of  his  son-in-law 
Orkhan,  who  crossed  into  Thrace  and  drove  the 
adherents  of  the  Paleologi  out  of  several  fortresses. 
But  a  night  surprise  from  the  side  of  the  sea  put  John 
Paleologus  in  possession  of  Constantinople,  and  by  a 
fortunate  chance  he  got  Cantacuzenus  himself  into 
his  hands.  The  usurper  was,  in  accordance  with  the 
usual  practice,  tonsured  and  placed  in  a  monastery  ; 
by  exceptional  good  fortune  he  was  spared  the  loss 
of  his  eyes,  and  was  able  to  spend  the  remainder  of 
his  life  in  writing  a  history  of  his  own  time. 

But  it  was  of  little  use  to  sweep  away  Cantacuzenus 
while  Orkhan's  Turks  were  in  Thrace.  The  Ottomans 
had  come  as  auxiliaries  in  the  war,  but  they  were 
resolved  to  stop  as  principals.  Suleiman,  the  son  of 
Orkhan,  seized  GalHpoli  for  himself,  filled  it  with 
Turkish  families,  and  made  it  a  permanent  settlement. 
This  was  the  first  Ottoman  foothold  in  Europe,  but  it 
was  not  long  to  remain  isolated. 

In  1359  Orkhan  died,  and  his  successor,  Murad  I., 
determined  to  cross  over  into  Europe,  and  try  the 
fortune  of  his  arms.  John  Paleologus  was  not  a  worse 
man  than  his  immediate  predecessors  on  the  throne, 
but  thanks  to  Cantacuzenus  he  had  far  less  resources 
than  even  they  had  possessed.  Two  years  of  fighting 
sufficed  to  put  Thrace  in  the  hands  of  Murad  from 


330  THE   TURKS  IN  EUROPE. 

sea  to  sea.  A  decisive  battle  in  front  of  Adrianople 
in  1 361  was  the  finishing  stroke,  and  the  empire 
became  a  mere  head  without  a  body  ;  its  last  home- 
province  had  been  lopped  away,  and  beyond  the  walls 
of  Constantinople  no  land  acknowledged  John  V.  as 
sovereign  save  the  district  of  Thessalonica  and  the 
Peloponnesus. 

Why  Murad  I.  did  not  finish  the  task  he  had  begun, 
and  take  Constantinople  itself,  it  is  hard  to  discern. 
Its  walls  were  still  formidable,  and  the  Genoese  and 
Venetians  could  still  protect  it  on  the  side  of  the  sea. 
But  a  siege  pressed  firmly  to  an  end  must  at  last  have 
triumphed  over  the  mere  inert  resistance  of  stone  and 
mortar,  unsupported  by  an  adequate  garrison  within. 
However,  Murad  preferred  to  press  on  against  worthier 
adversaries  than  the  weak  Paleologus,  and  spent  his 
life  in  incessant  and  successful  wars  with  the  Servians, 
the  Bulgarians,  and  the  Seljouk  Emirs  of  Southern 
Asia  Minor.  In  a  reign  of  thirty  years  he  extended 
his  borders  to  the  Balkans  on  the  north,  and  annexed 
large  tracts  of  Seljouk  territory  from  his  brother 
Emirs  in  Asia  Minor. 

JohH  Paleologus  was  his  humble  vassal  and  slave. 
After  a  vain  attempt  to  get  help  from  the  Pope,  this 
emperor  without  an  empire  resolved  to  make  what 
terms  he  could,  and  rejoiced  when  he  found  that 
Murad  was  prepared  to  grant  him  peace.  The  Turk 
was  a  hard  master,  and  rejoiced  in  giving  his  vassal 
unpalatable  tasks.  Best  remembered  among  the  tribu- 
lations of  John  is  the  siege  of  Philadelphia.  That 
place  had  preserved  a  precarious  independence  after 
all  the  other  cities   01    Byzantine  Asia  fell  into  the 


SIEGE    OF    PHILADELPHIA.  33 1 

hands  of  the  Turkish  Emirs.  Being  far  away  in  the 
Lydian  hills,  it  lost  touch  with  Constantinople,  and 
had  become  a  free  town.  Murad,  wishing  to  subdue 
it,  compelled  John  V.  and  his  son  Manuel  to  march  in 
person  against  the  last  Christian  stronghold  in  Asia. 
The  Emperor  submitted  to  the  degradation,  and 
Philadelphia  surrendered  when  it  saw  the  imperial 
banner  hoisted  among  the  horse-tails  of  the  Turkish 
pashas  above  the  camp  of  the  besiegers.  The  humili- 
ation of  the  empire  could  go  no  further  than  when  the 
heir  of  Justinian  and  Basil  Bulgaroktonos  took  the 
field  at  the  behest  of  an  upstart  Turkish  Emir,  in 
order  to  extinguish  the  last  relics  of  freedom  among 
his  own  compatriots. 


XXVI. 

THE   END   OF  A   LONG  TALE. 
(1370-1453.) 

The  tale  of  the  last  seventy-five  years  of  the  Byzan- 
tine Empire  is  a  mere  piece  of  local  history,  and  no 
longer  forms  an  important  thread  in  the  web  of  the 
history  of  Christendom.  Murad  the  Turk  might  have 
taken  Constantinople  in  1370,  without  altering  in  any 
very  great  measure  the  course  of  events  in  Eastern 
Europe  during  the  next  century.  For  after  1370  the 
empire  ceased  to  exercise  its  old  function  of  "  bul- 
wark of  Christendom  against  the  Ottomite."  That 
duty  now  fell  to  the  Servians  and  Hungarians,  who 
continued  to  discharge  it  for  the  next  hundred  and 
fifty  years.  The  Paleologi,  by  their  base  subservience 
to  the  Turk,  protracted  the  life  of  the  empire  long  after 
all  justification  for  its  existence  had  disappeared. 

If  Constantinople  had  fallen  in  1370,  instead  of 
1453,  there  arc  only  two  ways  in  which  European 
history  would  have  been  somewhat  modified.  The 
commercial  resources  of  Genoa  and  Venice  would 
have  been  straitened  before  the  appointed  time,  and 


REIGN  OF  JOHN  PALEOLOGUS.  333 

ere  the  Cape  route  to  India  enabled  Europe  to  dis- 
pense with  the  use  of  Constantinople  as  half-way  house 
to  the  East.  And,  we  may  add,  the  Renaissance 
would  have  been  shorn  of  some  of  its  brilliance  in  the 
next  century,  if  the  dispersion  of  the  Greeks  had 
taken  place  before  Italy  was  quite  fitted  to  receive 
them  and  turn  their  learning  to  account.  But  in 
other  respects  it  is  hard  to  see  that  much  harm  would 
have  resulted  from  the  fall  of  Constantinople  in  the 
end  of  the  fourteenth  rather  than  the  middle  of  the 
fifteenth  century. 

While  Murad  I.  was  conquering  the  Servians  and 
Bulgarians,  John  Paleologus  was  dragging  out  a  long 
and  unhonoured  old  age.  His  reign  was  protracted 
for  over  half  a  century,  but  his  later  years  were  much 
vexed  by  the  undutiful  behaviour  of  his  children. 
His  son  Andronicus  twice  rebelled  against  him,  and 
once  succeeded  in  seizing  the  throne  for  a  short  space. 
Andronicus  allied  himself  unto  Saoudji,  a  son  of 
Murad  L,  who  plotted  a  similar  treason  against  his 
father  the  Emir.  But  Murad  easily  quelled  the 
rebellion,  put  out  the  eyes  of  his  own  son,  and  sent 
Andronicus  in  chains  to  John  H.,  bidding  him  to 
follow  his  example.  The  Emperor  did  not  dare  to 
disobey,  and  ordered  his  son  to  be  blinded.  But 
the  operation  was  so  ineffectually  performed  that 
Andronicus  retained  a  measure  of  sight,  and  was  even 
able  to  venture  on  a  second  rebellion  against  his  father.,, 

In  consequence  of  his  heir's  unnatural  conduct,  the 
aged  John  determined  to  deprive  him  of  his  succes- 
sion, and  when  he  died  in  1 391,  he  left  the  throne  to 
his  second  son  Manuel,  and   not  to  his  eldest  born. 


334  ^^^^^'    '^'^'^^    <^^''    ^    L(Ji\G    TALE, 

Manuel  II.  was  above  the  average  of  the  Paleologi, 
and  showed  some  signs  of  capacity,  but  of  what  use 
was  it  to  a  prince  whose  sole  dominions  were  Con- 
stantinople, Thessalonica,  and  the  Peloponnesus  ?  He 
had  neither  military  strength  nor  money  to  justify 
rebellion  against  the  Turk,  and  could  only  wait  on 
the  course  of  events. 

There  was,  however,  one  moment  in  Manuel's  life 
at  which  the  liberation  of  the  empire  from  the 
Ottoman  suzerainty  appeared  possible  and  even 
probable.  In  1402,  there  burst  into  Asia  Minor  a 
great  horde  of  Tartars,  under  the  celebrated  con- 
queror Timour  [Tamerlane].  Sultan  Bayezid,  the 
successor  of  Murad  I.,  went  forth  to  withstand  the 
invader.  But  at  Angora  in  Galatia,  he  suffered  a 
crushing  defeat,  and  the  Ottoman  Empire  seemed 
likely  to  perish  by  the  sword.  Bayezid  was  cap- 
tured, his  trusty  Janissaries  were  cut  to  pieces,  his 
light  horsemen  scattered  to  the  winds.  The  Tartars 
swarmed  all  over  Asia  Minor,  occupied  Broussa,  the 
Ottoman  capital,  and  restored  to  their  thrones  all  the 
Seljouk  Emirs  whose  dominions  Murad  I.  had 
annexed,  Bayezid  died  in  captivity,  and  his  sons 
began  to  fight  over  the  remains  of  his  empire  :  Prince 
Suleiman  seized  Adrianople,  Prince  Eesa  Nicaea,  and 
each  declared  himself  Sultan. 

This  was  a  rare  opportunity  for  Manuel  Paleologus  : 
the  thieves  had  fallen  out,  and  the  rightful  owner 
might  perchance  come  again  to  his  own,  if  he  played 
his  cards  well.  The  control  of  the  Straits  was  of 
great  importance  to  each  of  the  Turkish  pretenders, 
so  much  so,  that  Manuel  was  able  to  sell   his   aid   to 


TURKISH    CIVIL    WARS. 


335 


Suleiman  for  a  heavy  price.     In  order  to  keep  Eesa 
from  crossing  the  water,  the  holder  of  the  European 




MANUEL    PALEOLOGUS   AND    HIS    FAMILY. 

{From  a  Co7ttemporary  AIS.) 
{From  ''  U Art  Byzantin"     Par  C.  Bayet.     Paris,  Quantin,  1883.) 

half  of  the  Ottoman   realm  ceded   to  the   Emperor 


^^6  THE   END   OF  A   LONG    TALE. 

Thessalonica,  the  lower  valley  of  the  Strymon,  the 
coast  of  Thessaly,  and  all "  the  seaports  of  the  Black 
Sea  from  the  mouth  of  the  Bosphorus  up  to  Varna. 

For  a  moment  Manuel  once  more  rul6d  what  might 
in  courtesy  be  called  an  empire,  and  so  long  as  the 
Ottomans  were  occupied  in  civil  war  he  contrived  to 
retain  his  gains.  The  strife  of  the  sons  of  Bayezid 
lasted  ten  years  :  Suleiman  was  slain  by  his  brother 
Musa,  Eesa  by  his  brother  Mohammed,  and  the  two 
supplanters  continued  the  war.  By  all  Oriental 
analogies  their  empire  ought  to  have  fallen  to  pieces, 
for  it  is  very  much  easier  to  build  up  a  new  state  in 
the  East  than  to  keep  together  an  old  one  which  is 
breaking  asunder.  But  Mohammed,  the  youngest 
of  the  sons  of  Bayezid,  was  a  man  of  genius  :  he 
triumphed  over  the  last  of  his  brothers,  and  united  all 
the  remnants  of  the  Ottoman  realm  that  remained. 
Much  had  been  lost  to  the  Seljouk  Emirs  in  Asia 
Minor,  and  to  the  Servians  and  Manuel  Paleologus  in 
Europe,  but  the  rest  was  back  in  Mohammed's  hands 
byA.D.  142 1.  Manuel  had  very  luckily  cast  in  his  lot 
with  Mohammed  during  the  later  years  of  the  Turkish 
civil  war,  and  his  ally  let  him  enjoy  the  dominions  he 
had  recovered  by  his  original  treaty  with  Suleiman  in 
1403. 

Between  1402  and  142 1,  Europe  had  an  unparalleled 
opportunity  to  rid  herself  of  the  Ottomans.  Unfor- 
tunately it  was  not  taken.  Sigismund,  king  of 
Hungary,  and  at  the  same  time  Emperor,  was  the 
sovereign  on  whom  the  duty  of  leading  the  attack 
ought  to  have  fallen.  But  Sigismund  was  now 
engaged  in  his   great  struggle  with  the  Hussites  in 


MURAD   II.   ATTACKS    CONSTANTINOPLE.        337 

Bohemia.  This  wretched  religious  war  directed  the 
strength  of  Hungary  northward  when  it  was  wanted 
in  the  south.  Without  such  a  power  to  back  them 
the  Servians,  though  they  recovered  their  own  liberty 
as  a  result  of  the  battle  of  Angora,  could  do  nothing 
towards  driving  the  Turks  from  the  Balkans.  There 
was  never  any  sympathy  between  Serb  and  Magyar, 
and  save  under  the  direct  pressure  of  fear  of  a  Moslem 
invasion  they  would  hot  act  together.  The  Hungarian 
kings  had  always  laid  claim  to  a  suzerainty  over  the 
crown  of  Servia,  and  from  time  to  time  tried  to  con- 
vert their  neighbours  to  Roman  Catholicism  by  force 
of  arms.  Hence  there  was  no  love  lost  between  them, 
and  a  crusade  to  expel  the  Turks  was  never  concerted. 
Mahomet  the  Unifier  died  in  142 1,  and  evil  days 
at  once  set  in  for  Constantinople  and  for  Christendom, 
when  his  ambitious  son  Murad  H.  came  to  the  throne. 
Manuel  Paleologus  was  one  of  the  first  to  feel  the 
change  in  the  times.  He  tried  to  make  trouble  for 
Murad,  by  supporting  against  him  two  claimants  to  the 
Ottoman  Sultanate,  each  named  Mustapha,  one  the 
uncle,  the  other  the  brother  of  the  new  ruler.  This 
drew  down  on  the  empire  the  fate  which  had  been 
delayed  since  1370:  the  Sultan  declared  war  on 
Manuel,  took  one  after  another  all  the  fortresses  which 
had  been  recovered  by  the  peace  of  1403,  and  finally 
laid  siege  to  Constantinople.  For  the  last  time  the 
walls  of  the  city  proved  strong  enough  to  repulse  an 
assault.  Though  Murad  levelled  against  them 
cannon,  then  seen  for  the  first  time  in  the  East,  built 
Oiovable  towers  to  shelter  his  troops,  and  launched 
his  terrible  Janissaries  to  the  assault,  he  could  not 


ARAlItSfjUK    DESICN    IKOM    A    HYZANTINE    MS. 

{^Froni  '■'•  L'Art  Byzaitti)!.''''     Par  Charles  Bayet.     Paris,  Quantin,  iS8j. 


DEATH   OF  MANUEL   II.  339 

succeed.  The  report  of  a  miraculous  vision  of  the 
Virgin,  who  vouchsafed  to  reveal  herself  as  the 
defender  of  the  city,  encouraged  the  Greeks  to  resist 
with  a  better  spirit  than  might  have  been  expected. 
At  last  the  pretender  Mustapha,  whom  Manuel  had 
supplied  with  money  to  cause  a  revolt  against  his 
brother,  began  to  stir  up  such  trouble  in  Asia  Minor, 
that  the  Sultan  determined  to  raise  the  siege  and 
march  against  him.  He  granted  Manuel  peace,  on 
the  condition  that  he  ceded  all  his  dominions  save 
the  cities  of  Constantinople  and  Thessalonica  and 
the  Peloponnesian  province.  Thus  the  empire  once 
more  sank  back  into  a  state  of  vassalage  to  the 
Ottomans  [1422]. 

Manuel  II.  died  three  years  after,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-seven.  He  was  the  last  sovereign  of  Con- 
stantinople who  won  even  a  transient  smile  from 
fortune.  The  tale  of  the  last  thirty  years  of  the 
empire  is  one  of  unredeemed  gloom. 

To  Manuel  succeeded  his  son  John  VI.,  whose 
whole  reign  was  passed  in  peace,  without  an  attempt 
to  shake  off  the  Turkish  yoke ;  such  an  attempt 
indeed  would  have  been  hopeless,  unless  backed  by 
aid  from  without.  As  Manuel  II.  once  observed, 
"  the  empire  now  requires  a  bailiff  not  a  statesman  to 
rule  it."  Treaties,  wars,  and  alliances  were  not  for 
him  :  all  that  he  could  do  was  to  try  to  save  a  little 
money,  and  to  keep  his  walls  in  good  repair,  and  even 
these  humble  tasks  were  not  always  feasible. 

All  the  descriptions  of  Constantinople  in  the 
.iifteenth  century,  whether  written  by  Greek  natives 
or  by  Western  travellers,  bear  witness  to  a  state  of 


340        THE   END   OF  A    LONG    TALE. 

exhaustion  and  debility  which  make  us  wonder  that 
the  empire  did  not  collapse  sooner.  The  country  out- 
side the  walls  was  a  desert.  Within  them  more  than 
half  the  ground  was  unoccupied,  and  covered  only  by 
ruins  which  testified  to  alQcient  magnificence.  The 
great  palace  by  the  Augustaeum,  which  sheltered  so 
many  generations  of  emperors,  had  grown  so  dilapi- 
dated that  the  Paleologi  dwelt  in  a  mere  corner  of  it. 
Part  of  the  porticoes  of  St.  Sophia  had  fallen  down, 
and  the  Greeks  could  not  afford  to  repair  even  the 
greatest  sanctuary  of  their  faith.  The  population  of 
the  city  had  shrunk  to  about  a  hundred  thousand 
souls,  most  of  them  dwelling  in  great  poverty.  Such 
commerce  and  wealth  as  still  survived  in  Constanti- 
nople had  passed  almost  entirely  into  the  hands  of 
the  Italians  of  Genoa  and  Venice,  whose  fortified 
factories  at  Galata  and  Pera  now  contained  the  bulk 
of  the  wares  that  passed  through  the  city.  The 
military  strength  of  the  empire  was  composed  of 
about  four  thousand  mercenary  troops,  of  whom  many 
were  Franks  and  hardly  any  were  born  subjects  of 
the  empire.  The  splendid  court,  which  had  once  been 
the  wonder  of  East  and  West,  had  shrunk  to  such 
modest  dimensions  that  a  Burgundian  traveller  noted 
with  surprise  that  no  more  than  eight  attendants 
accompanied  the  empress  when  she  went  in  state  to 
worship  in  St.  Sophia.^ 

John  VI.,  in  spite  of  the  caution  with  which  he 
avoided  all  action,  was  destined  to  see  the  empire  lose 
its  most  important  possession    beyond   the  walls  of 

*  See  Bertrandon  de  la  Broquiere  quoted  in  Finlay,  vol.  iii.  p.  493, 
a  very  interesting  passage. 


yOHN   VI.    AT  FLORENCE.  34I 

Constantinople.  His  brother  Andronicus,  governor 
of  Thessalonica,  traitorously  sold  that  city  to  the 
Venetians  for  50,000  zecchins.  The  Sultan,  incensed 
at  a  transfer  of  Greek  territory  having  taken  place 
without  his  permission,  pounced  down  on  the  place, 
expelled  the  Venetians  and  annexed  Thessalonica  to 
the  Ottoman  Empire  [1430]. 

The  chief  feature  of  the  reign  of  the  last  John 
Paleologus  was  his  attempt  to  win  aid  for  the  empire 
by  enlisting  sympathy  in  Western  Europe.  He 
determined  to  conform  to  Roman  Catholicism  and 
to  throw  himself  on  the  generosity  of  the  Pope. 
Accordingly  he  betook  himself  to  Italy  in  1438,  with 
the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople  and  many  bishops  in 
his  train.  He  appeared  at  the  Councils  of  Ferrara  and 
Florence,  and  \\as  solemnly  received  into  the  Roman 
Church  in  the  Florentine  Duomo,  on  July  6,  1439. 
It  had  apparently  escaped  John's  notice  that 
Eugenius  IV.,  the  pope  of  his  own  day,  was  a  very 
different  personage  from  the  great  pontiffs  of  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries,  who  were  able  to 
depose  sovereigns  and  send  forth  Crusades  at  their 
good  pleasure.  Since  the  Great  Schism  the  papacy 
had  been  hopelessly  discredited  in  Christendom. 
Eugenius  IV.  was  engaged  in  waging  a  defensive 
war  against  the  Council  of  Basle,  which  was  attempt- 
ing to  depose  him,  and  had  little  thought  or  power 
to  spend  on  aiding  the  Eastern  Christians.  All  that 
John  could  get  from  him  was  a  sum  of  money  and  a 
body  of  three  hundred  mercenary  troops.  This  was  a 
poor  return  for  his  journey  and  conversion. 

Only  one  thing  of  importance  was  accomplished  by 


342  THE   END   OE   A    LONG    TALE, 

the  apostasy  of  the  Emperor — the  outbreak  of  a 
venomous  ecclesiastical  struggle  at  Constantinople 
between  the  conformists  who  had  taken  the  oath  at 
Florence,  and  the  bulk  of  the  clergy,  who  disowned 
the  treaty  of  union.  John  was  practically  boycotted, 
by  the  majority  of  his  subjects  ;  the  Orthodox  priests 
ceased  to  pray  for  him,  and  the  populace  refused  to 
enter  St.  Sophia  again,  when  it  had  been  profaned  by 
the  celebration  of  the  Roman  Mass.  The  opinion  of 
the  majority  of  the  Greeks  was  summed  up  in  the 
exclamation  of  the  Grand-Duke  John  Notaras — 
"  Better  the  turban  of  the  Turk  in  Constantinople 
than  the  Pope's  Tiara." 

The  last  years  of  the  reign  of  John  VI.  coincided 
vith  the  great  campaigns  of  Huniades  and  Ladislas 
of  Poland  against  the  Turks.  For  a  moment  it 
seemed  as  if  the  gallant  king  of  Poland  and  Hungary, 
backed  by  his  great  Warden  of  the  Marches,  might 
restore  the  Balkan  lands  to  Christendom.  They 
thrust  Murad  II.  back  over  the  Balkans,  and  appeared 
in  triumph  at  Sophia.  But  the  fatal  battle  of  Varna 
[1444]  ended  the  career  of  King  Ladislas  in  an 
untimely  death,  and  after  that  fight  the  Ottomans 
were  obviously  fated  to  accomplish  their  destiny 
without  a  check.  John  Paleologus  watched  the 
strucfGfle  without  movement  if  -not  without  concern. 
He  was  too  cautious  to  stir  a  finger  to  aid  the 
Hungarians,  for  he  knew  that  if  he  once  offended  the 
Sultan  his  days  would  be  numbered. 

John  VI.  passed  away  in  1448,  and  Sultan  Murad 
in  145 1.  The  one  was  succeeded  by  his  brother 
Constantine,the  last  Christian  sovereign  of  Byzantium, 


MAHOMET   II.   ATTACKS   CONSTANTINOPLE.     343 

the  other  by  his  young  son  Mohammed  the  Conqueror. 
Constantine  was  a  Romanist  Hke  his  elder  brother, 
and  was  therefore  treated  with  great  suspicion  and 
coolness  by  his  handful  of  subjects.  He  was  the  best 
man  that  the  house  of  Paleologus  had  ever  reared, 
brave,  pious,  generous,  and  forgiving.  Like  King 
Hosea  of  Israel,  "  he  did  not  evil  as  the  kings  that 
were  before  him,"  yet  was  destined  to  bear  the  penalty 
for  all  the  sins  and  follies  of  his  long  line  of  prede- 
cessors. 

Mohammed  II.,  the  most  commanding  personality 
among  the  whole  race  of  Ottoman  Sultans,  set  his 
heart  from  the  first  on  seizing  Constantinople,  the 
natural  centre  of  his  empire,  and  making  it  his  capital. 
Some  excuse  had  to  be  found  for  falling  on  his  vassal : 
the  one  that  he  chose  was  a  rather  unwise  request 
which  Constantine  had  made.  There  dwelt  at  Constan- 
tinople a  Turkish  prince  of  the  royal  house  named 
Orkhan,  for  whom  Mohammed  paid  a  considerable 
subsidy,  on  condition  that  he  was  kept  out  of  the  way 
of  mischief  and  plotting.  Someunhappyinspiration  im- 
pelled Constantine  to  ask  for  an  increase  in  the  subsidy, 
and  to  hint  that  Orkhan  had  claims  to  the  Sultanate. 
This  was  excuse  enough  for  Mohammed  :  without 
taking  the  trouble  to  declare  war  he  sent  out  troops  and 
engineers,  and  began  to  erect  forts  on  Greek  soi^,  only 
four  miles  away  from  Constantinople,  at  the  narrowest 
point  of  the  Bosphorus,  so  as  to  block  the  approach 
to  the  city  from  the  Black  Sea.  The  Emperor  did 
not  dare  to  remonstrate,  but  when  the  Turks  began 
to  pull  down  a  much-venerated  church,  in  order  to 
utilize  its  stones  in  the  new  fort,  a  few  Greeks  took 


344  ^^^   ^^^   OF  A   LONG    TALE, 

arms  and  drove  the  masons  away.  They  were  at 
once  cut  down  by  the  Turkish  guards  :  Constantine 
demanded  redress,  and  then  Mohammed,  having 
fairly  picked  his  wolf-and-lamb  quarrel  with  his  un- 
fortunate vassal,  commenced  open  hostilities  [Autumn 
1452.] 

Turkish  light  troops  at  once  appeared  to  blockade  the 
city  while  the  Sultan  began  to  collect  a  great  train 
of  cannon  at  Adrianople,  and  to  build  a  large  fleet  of 
war  galleys  in  the  ports  of  Asia  :  the  siege  was  to  begin 
in  the  ensuing  spring. 

The  empire  was  now  in  its  death  agony,  and  Con- 
stantine recognized  the  fact.  He  spent  the  winter  in 
making  frantic  appeals  to  the  Pope  and  the  Italian 
naval  powers  to  save  him  from  destruction.  Nicholas 
V.  was  willing  enough  to  help  ;  now  that  the  Emperor 
was  a  convert  to  Catholicism  something  must  be  done 
to  aid  him.  But  all  that  the  Pope  could  send  was  a 
cardinal,  a  moderate  sum  of  money,  and  a  few  hundred 
soldiers  of  fortune  hastily  hired  in  Italy.  Venice  and 
Genoa  could  have  done  much  more,  but  they  had  so 
often  heard  the  cry  of  "  Wolf"  raised  that  they  did 
not  realize  the  danger  to  their  Eastern  trade  at  its 
true  extent.  From  Genoa,  Giovanni  Giustiniani 
brought  no  more  than  two  galleys  and  three  hundred 
men.  Venice  did  even  less,  only  commissioning  the 
bailiff  of  its  factory  at  Galata  to  arm  such  able-bodied 
Venetians  as  were  with  him  for  t'he  protection  of  the 
city.  Altogether  the  Franks,  counting  both  trained 
mercenaries  and  armed  burghers,  who  co-operated  in 
the  defence  of  Constantinople,  were  not  more  than 
^hree  thousand  strong.     Yet  either  Genoa  or  Venice 


APATHY   OF   THE   GREEKS. 


345 


could    have    thrown  a  hundred  galleys   and    twenty 
thousand  men  into  the  scale  if  they  had  chosen. 

Constantine's  own  troops  were  about  four  thousand 
strong,  but  he  hoped  to  recruit  them  by  a  general 
levy  of  the  male  population  of  the  city.  He  issued 
a  passionate  appeal  to  his  subjects  to  join  in  saving 


DETAILS    OF    ST.    SOPHIA. 


the  holy  city,  the  centre  of  Eastern  Christendom. 
But  the  Greeks  only  remembered  that  he  was  an 
apostate,  who  had  foresworn  the  faith  of  his  fathers 
and  done  homage  to  the  Pope.  They  stood  aside  in 
sullen  apathy,  and  from  the  whole  population  of  the 
city    only   two    thousand   volunteers   were    enlisted. 


34^  THE   END   OF  A    LONG    TALE. 

Theological  bitterness  led  the  blind  multitude  to  cry 
with  Notaras  that  it  preferred  the  Turk  to  the  Roman. 

In  April,  1453,  the  young  Sultan,  with  seventy 
thousand  picked  troops  at  his  back,  laid  formal  siege 
to  the  city  on  the  land  side,  while  a  fleet  of  several 
hundred  war  galleys  beset  the  Bosphorus.  The  end 
could  not  be  for  a  moment  doubtful  ;  nine  thousand 
men  could  not  hope  to  defend  the  vast  circuit  of  the 
land  and  sea-wall  against  a  veteran  army  urged  on 
by  a  young  and  fiery  general.  Mohammed  set  his 
cannon  to  play  on  the  walls,  and  it  was  soon  seen 
that  the  tough  old  Roman  mortar  and  stone  that  had 
blunted  the  siege  engines  of  so  many  foes  could  not 
resist  the  force  of  gunpowder.  The  Sultan's  artillery 
was  rude,  but  it  was  heavy  and  numerous  ;  ere  long 
the  walls  began  to  come  down  in  flakes,  and  breaches 
commenced  to  show  themselves  in  several  places. 

Constantine  XI.  and  his  second  in  command,  the 
Genoese  Giustiniani,  did  all  that  brave  and  skilful  men 
might,  in  protracting  the  siege.  They  led  sorties, 
organized  attacks  by  water  on  the  Turkish  fleet,  and 
endeavoured  to  drive  off  the  siege  artillery  of  the 
enemy  by  a  counter  fire  of  cannon.  But  it  was  found 
that  the  old  walls  were  too  narrow  to  bear  the  guns,- 
and  where  any  were  hoisted  up  and  brought  to  bear, 
their  recoil  shook  the  fabric  in  such  a  dangerous  way 
that  the  fire  was  soon  obliged  to  cease. 

At  sea  the  Christians  won  one  great  success,  when 
four  galleys  from  the  Aegean  forced  their  way  in 
through  the  whole  Turkish  fleet,  and  reached  the 
Golden  Horn  in  safety,  after  sinking  many  of  their 
assailants.     But  the  Turks  had  as  great  a  numerical 


LAST  HOURS   OF   CONSTANTINE   XIII.  347 

superiority  on  the  water  as  on  land,  and  the  inevit- 
able could  only  be  delayed.  Mohammed  even  suc^ 
ceeded  in  getting  control  of  the  harbour  of  the  city, 
above  its  mouth,  by  dragging  light  galleys  on  rollers 
over  the  neck  of  land  between  the  Bosphorus  and  the 
Golden  Horn,  and  launching  them  in  the  inland 
waters  just  above  Galata.  Thus  the  inner,  as  well  as 
the  outer,  sea-face  of  the  city  was  beset  by  enemies. 

The  end  came  on  May  29,  1453.  The  Sultan  had 
opened  several  practicable  breaches,  of  which  the 
chief  lay  in  the  north-west  angle  of  the  city  by  the 
gate  of  St.  Romanus,  where  two  whole  towers  and 
the  curtain  between  them  had  been  battered  down 
and  choked  the  ditch.  The  storm  was  obviously  at 
hand,  and  the  doomed  Emperor  was  obliged  to  face 
his  fate.  Greek  historians  dwelt  with  loving  sorrow 
on  the  last  hours  of  the  unfortunate  prince.  He  left 
the  breach  at  midnight,  partook  of  the  sacrament 
according  to  the  Latin  rite  in  St.  Sophia,  and  snatched 
a  few  hours  of  troubled  sleep  in  his  half-ruined  palace. 
Next  morning,  with  the  dawn,  he  rose  to  ride  back  to  the 
post  of  danger.  His  ministers  and  attendants  crowded 
round  his  horse  as  he  started  on  what  all  knew  to  be 
his  last  journey.  Looking  steadfastly  on  them  he 
prayed  one  and  all  to  pardon  him  for  any  offence  that 
he  might  wittingly  or  unwittingly  have  committed 
against  any  man.  The  crowd  answered  with  sobs 
and  wails,  and  with  the  sounds  of  woe  ringing  in  his 
ears  Constantine  rode  slowly  off  to  meet  his  death. 

The  assault  commenced  at  dawn ;  three  main 
attacks  and  several  secondary  ones  were  directed 
against  weak  spots  in  the  wall.     But  the  chief  stress 


348  THE   END    OF   A   LONG    TALE, 

was  on  the  great  breach  by  the  gate  of  St.  Romanus. 
There  the  Emperor  himself  and  Giustiniani  at  his  side 
stood  in  the  midst  of  the  yawning  gap  with  their  best 
men  around  them,  and  opposed  a  barrier  of  steel  to 
the  oncoming  assailants.  Twelve  thousand  Janissaries, 
sabre  in  hand,  formed  successive  columns  of  attack; 
as  soon  as  one  was  beaten  off  another  delivered  its 
assault.  They  fell  by  hundreds  before  the  swords  of 
the  mailed  men  in  the  breach,  for  their  felt  caps  and 
unarmoured  bodies  were  easy  marks  for  the  ponderous 
weapons  of  the  fifteenth  century.  But  the  ranks  of 
the  defenders  grew  thin  and  weary  ;  Giustiniani  was 
wounded  in  the  face  by  an  arrow,  and  taken  on  board 
his  galley  to  die.  Const  antine  at  last  stood  almost 
alone  in  the  breach,  and  a  forlorn  hope  of  Janissaries 
headed  by  one  Hassan  of  Ulubad,  whom  Turkish 
:hroniclers  delight  to  honour,  at  last  forced  their  way 
over  the  wall.  The  Emperor  and  his  companions 
were  trodden  under  foot,  and  the  victorious  army 
rushed  into  the  desolate  streets  of  Constantinople, 
seeking  in  vain  for  foes  to  fight.  The  Greeks,  half 
expecting  that  God  would  interfere  to  save  the  queen 
of  Christian  cities  by  a  miracle,  had  crowded  into  the 
churches,  and  were  passing  the  fatal  hour  in  frantic 
prayer  !  The  shouts  of  the  victorious  enemy  soon 
showed  them  how  the  day  had  gone,  and  the  wor- 
shippers were  dragged  out  in  crowds,  to  be  claimed  as 
slaves  and  divided  among  the  conquerors. 

Mohammed  II.  -ode  through  the  breach  after  his 
men,  and  descended  into  the  city,  scanning  from 
within  the  streets  that  so  many  Eastern  conquerors 
had  in  vain  desired  to  see.      He  bade  his  men  search 


FALL   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE.  349 

for  the  Emperor,  and  the  corpse  of  Constantine  was 
found  at  last  beneath  a  heap  of  slain,  so  gashed  and 
mauled  that  it  was  only  identified  by  the  golden 
eagles  on  his  mail  shoes.  The  Turk  struck  off  his 
head,  and  sent  it  round  their  chief  cities  as  a  token  of 
triumph.  Riding  through  the  hippodrome  towards 
St.  Sophia,  Mohammed  noted  the  Delphic  tripod  with 
its  three  snakes/  standing  where  Constantine  the 
Great  had  placed  it  eleven  hundred  years  before. 
Either  because  the  menacing  heads  of  the  serpents 
provoked  him,  or  merely  because  he  wished  to  try  the 
strength  of  his  arm,  the  Sultan  rose  in  his  stirrups 
and  smote  away  the  jaws  of  the  nearest  snake  with 
one  blow  of  his  mace.  There  was  something  typical 
in  the  deed  though  Mohammed  knew  it  not.  He  had 
defaced  the  monument  of  the  first  great  victory  of  the 
West  over  the  East.  He,  the  successor  in  spirit  not 
only  of  Xerxes  but  of  Chosroes  and  Moslemah  and 
many  another  Oriental  potentate,  who  had  failed 
where  he  succeeded,  could  not  better  signalize  the  end 
of  Greek  freedom  than  by  dealing  a  scornful  blow  at 
that  ancient  memorial,  erected  in  the  first  days  of 
Grecian  greatness,  to  celebrate  the  turning  back  of 
the  Persians  on  the  field  of  Plataea. 

At  last  the  Sultan  came  to  St.  Sophia,  where  the 
crowd  of  wailing  captives  was  being  divided  among 
his  soldiery.  He  rode  in  at  the  eastern  door,  and 
bade  a  mollah  ascend  the  pulpit  and  repeat  there  the 
formula  of  the  Moslem  faith.  So  the  cry  that  God 
was  great  and  Mohammed  his  prophet  rang  through 

'  See  pp.  24,  25. 


J50  THE    END    OF   A    LONG    TALE. 

the  dome  where  thirty  generations  of  patriarchs  had 
celebrated  the  Holy  Mysteries,  and  all  Europe  and 
Asia  knew  the  end  was  come  of  the  longest  tale  of 
Empire  that  Christendom  has  yet  seen. 


ANGEL  OF  THE   NIGHT. 
{From  "  rA//  Byzantin:'    Par  Charles Bayet.    Paris,  Quantin,  1883.) 


TABLE    OF   EMPERORS. 


Arcadius    395-4o8 

Theodosius  11 408-450 

Marcianus 450-457 

Led 457-474 

Zeno  474-491 

Anastasius  1 491-518 

JustinusI 518-527 

Justinianus  1 527-565 

justinus  II 565-578 

Tiberius  II.,  Constantinus  578-582 

Mauricius 582-602 

Phocas  602-610 

Heraclius 610-641 

Heraclius        Constantinus 

and  Heracleonas 641-2 

Constans  II 642-668 

Constantine  IV 668-685 

Justinian  II 685-695 

Leontius    695-697 

Tiberius  III.,  Apsimarus  697-705 
Justinian  II.  (restored)    ...  705-711 

Philippicus    711-713 

Anastasius  II.,  Artemius  713-715 

Theodosius  III 715-717 

Leo  III.,  the  Isaurian  .  717-740 
Constantine  V.,  Coprony- 

mus 740-775 

Leo  IV 775-779 

Constantine  VI 779-797 

Irene 797-802 

NicephorusI 802-811 


I  Stauracius     811 

Michael  I..  Rhangabe  ...  811-813 
Leo  v.,  the  Armenian  ...  813-820 
Michael  II.,  the  Amorian  820-829 

Theophilus    829-842 

Michael  III 842-867 

Basil  I.,  the  Macedonian...  867-886 

Leo  VI.,  the  Wise  886-912 

Constantine  VII.,  Porphy- 

rogenitus  912-958 

[Co-regent   Emperors — 

Alexander 912-913 

Roman  us  I.,  Lecape- 

nus    919-945] 

Romanus  II 958-963 

Basil  II.,   Bulgaroktonos  963-1025 
[Co-regent  Emperors — 
Nicephorus  II., 

Phocas  963-969 

John  I.,  Zimisces    ...  969-976] 

Constantine  VIII 1025-28 

Romanus  III.,  Argyrus...  1028-34 
Michael  IV.,  the  Paphla- 

gonian   1034-42 

Michael  V 1042 

Constantine  IX.,  Mono- 

machus 1042-55 

Theodora ^055-57 

Michael  VI.,  Stratioticus  1056-57 
Isaac  I.,  Comnenus 1057-59 


352 


TABLE    OF  EMPERORS. 


Constantine  X.,  Ducas  ...    1059-67 
Michael  VII.,  Ducas  1067-78 

[Co-regent  Emperor — 
Romanus    IV'.,    Dio- 
genes   1067-71] 

Nicephorus   III.,    Botani- 

ates    1078-81 

Alexius  I.,  Comnenus...   1081-1118 

John  II.*  Comnenus    1118-43 

Manuel  I.,  Comnenus 1143-80 

Alexius    II.,    Comnenus...    1180-83 
Andronicus  I.,  Comnenus   1183-85 

Isaac  II.,  Angelus "85-95 

Alexius  III.,  Angelus...   1195-1203 

Isaac  II.  (restored) 1 203-4 

Alexius  v.,  Ducas   1204 

Latin  Emperors. 

Baldwin  1 1204-5 

Henry    .'. 1205-16 

Peter 1217-19 


Robert  1219-28 

Baldwin  II 1228-61 

NicAEAN  Emperors. 

Theodore  I.,  Lascaris 1204-22 

John  III.,  Ducas 1222-54 

Theodore  II.,  Ducas  1254-59 

John  IV.,  Ducas 1259-60 

Empire  Resiored. 
Michael  VIII.,  Paleologus  1260-82 
Andronicus  II..  P.deoio- 

gus 1 282-1 328 

Andronicus  III.,  Paleolo- 
gus     1328-41 

John  v.,  Paleologus    1341-91 

[Co-regent — 

John    VI.,    Cantacu- 

zenus 1347-54] 

Manuel  II 1391-1425 

John  VII 1425-48 

Constantine  XI 1448-53 


INDEX. 


Abdalmelik,  the  Caliph,  wars  of, 

with  Justinian  II.,  174-6 
Abubekr,  the  CaHph,  wars  of,  with 

Heraclius,  160 
Achaia,  Frank  principality  of,  296 
Acroinon,  battle  of,  188 
Adana,      taken     by     Nicephorus 

Fhocas,  230 
Adrianople,  battle  of,  40;  besieged 

by  the  Goths,  41  ;  captured  by 

the  Turks,  329 
Africa,    conquered    by  Belisarius, 

84-5  ;  overrun  by  the  Saracens, 

176 
Aijnadin,  battle  of,  162 
Alaric  the  Goth,  47  ;  wars    with 

Stilicho,  48  ;   departs  to  Italy, 

49 
Alaeddin,  Sultan  of  the  Seljouks, 

322 
Alboin     the     Lombard     invades 

and  conquers  Italy,  116 
Aleppo,  Emirate  of,  227  ;  attacked 

by    Nicephorus    Phocas,    231  ; 

tributary  to  the  empire,  270 
Alexander,  emperor-regent,  217 
Alexandria,  stormed  by  the  Arabs, 

166 
Alexius  I.  (Comnenus),  usurpation 

of,  257 ;  wars  with  the  Normans, 
^.  259  ;  conquests  of  in  Asia  Minor, 

265  ;  commercial  policy  of,  268 
Alexius     II.      (Comnenus),    short 

reign  and  murder  of,  272 


Alexius  III.  (Angelus),  usurpation 
of,  278 ;  attacked  by  the 
Crusaders,  282  ;  flies,  284 

Alexius  IV.  (Angelus),  takes  refuge 
in  Germany,  279;  persuades  the 
Crusaders,  280  ;  made  emperor, 
284  ;  murdered,  285 

Alexius  V.  (Ducas),  murders 
Alexius  IV.,  285  ;  defends  Con- 
stantinople, 287  ;  slain,  293 

Alexius  Comnenus,  emperor  of 
Trebizond,  298 

Alp  Arslan,  Sultan  of  the  Seljouk 
Turks,  attacks  the  empire,  252  ; 
defeats  Romanus  IV.,  254 

Amalasuntha,  Gothic  queen, 
murdered,  82 

Amalphi,  commerce  of,  225 

Amorium,  stormed  by  the  Sara- 
cens, 210 

Amour,  Turkish  Emir,  327 

Amrou  conquers  Egypt,  166 

Anastasius  I.,  reign  of,  61 

Anastasius  II.,  usurpation  of,  181 

Anatolic  theme,  167 

Andreas  murders  Constans  II.,  169 

Andronicus  I.  (Comnenus),  crimes 
and  fall  of,  272-3 

Andronicus  11.  (Paleologus),  reign 
of,  315-20 

Andronicus  III.  (Paleologus), 
reign  of,  321-2 

Angelus,  house  of,  see  Isaac  II. 
Alexius  III.  and  Theodore  of 
Epirus 


354 


INDEX. 


Angora,  battle  of,  334 

Ani,  taken  by  the  Turks,  251 

Anthemius,     prime     minister     of 

Theodosius  II.,  54-5 
Anthemius,  architect  of  St.  Sophia, 

107 
Anne   of  Savoy,    empress-regent, 

326 
Antioch,  taken   by  the   Persians, 

99;  taken  a  second  time,  129; 

stormed  by  the  Saracens,   163  ; 

retaken  by  Nicephorus  Phocas, 

231;    lost  to   the  Turks,    256; 

besieged  by  the  Crusaders,  265  ; 

tributary  to  the  Comneni,  270 
Antioch-on-Maeander,    battle   of, 

299. 
Antonina,  wife  of  Belisarius,  74 
Apsimarus,     Tiberius,     emperor, 

177  ;  executed,  179 
Arabs,  see  Saracens 
Arcadius,    reign    of,    47-54 ;    his 

dealings   with    the  Goths,    48  ; 

quarrels  with  Chrysostom,  52 
Armenia,   conquered    by  the   By- 
zantines,   243  ;  overrun  by   the 

Turks,  251 
Army,  reformed  by  Leo  and  Zeno, 

61  ;    description    of,    in    tenth 

century,  218 
Artemius  Anastasius,  reign  of,  61 
Art,  decay  and  revival  of,  222-4 
Aspar,  executed  by  Leo  L,  60 
Athalaric,  Gothic  king,  81 
Athanarich,     Gothic     king,    42 ; 

visits  Constantinople,  44 
Athens,   early   Byzantines  at  war 

with,    6  ;  schools  of,  closed  by 

Justinian,  150  ;  Frank  duchy  of, 

297  ;  conquered  by  the  "  Grand 

Comjiany,"  319 
Attila,  king  of  the  Huns,  wars  of 

with  the  emi)ire,  57 
Augustaeum,  description   of    the, 

19 

Avars,  invasions  of,  the  122  ;  war 
of,  with  lloraclius,  134  ;  besiege 
Constantinople,  137 

B 

Baanes,  rebel  in  Syria,  163 


Baduila,  Gothic  king,  victories  of, 
92  ;  takes  Rome,  94 ;  slain  in 
battle,  95 

Baldwin  L,  emperor,  his  cha- 
racter, 281 ;  crowned,  292  ;  slain 
by  the  Bulgarians,  295 

Baldwin  IL,  reign  of,  301  ;  his 
travels,  305  ;  expelled  from 
Constantinople,  306 

Bardas  Caesar,  212  ;  murdered  by 
Michael  IIL,  213 

Bari,  taken  by  the  Normans,  259 

Basil  L,  made  Caesar,  213;  as- 
sassinates Michael  IIL,  213; 
laws  of,  214 

Basil  IL,  ascends  the  throne,  229  ; 
assumes  the  full  power,  240  ;  his 
Bulgarian  victories,  241-3  ;  cam- 
paigns in  Asia,  243  ;  dies,  244 

Bayezid,  Turkish  Sultan,  334 

Belisarius,  Persian  victories  of,  73 : 
quells  the  Nika  riots,  79  ;  con- 
quers Africa,  84  ;  takes  Palermo, 
88;  takes  Rome,  89;  takes 
Ravenna,  91  :  recalled,  92  ;  acts 
against  Persia,  100  ;  defeats  the 
Huns,  104  ;  disgraced,  105 

Beneventum,  Lombard  duchy  of, 
1 17;  wars  of  with  Constans  IL, 
169 

Black  Sea,  Greek  trade  with,  2 

"  Blues  and  Green^^,"  Circus 
factions,  22,  75  ;  great  riot  of, 
against  Justinian,  76-7  ;  armed 
by  Maurice,  127 

Bohemund  the  Norman,  wars  of 
with  Alexius  I.,  267 

Boniface  of  Montferrat,  281-2; 
made  king  of  Thessalonica,  292 ; 
slain  in  battle,  296 

Bos})horus,  the,  1-2 

Bostra,  stormed  by  the  Saracens, 
162 

Branas,  Alexius,  rebellion  of,  277 

Brienne,  house  of,  at  Athens, 
308  ;  ex  [)e  I  led  by  the  "  Grand 
Company,"  319 

Broussa,  see  Prusa 

Buccllarian  Theme,  167-8 

Bulla  wides,  Persian  dynasty,  226-7 

Bulgarians,  invade  and  settle   in 


INDEX. 


355 


Moesia,  17;;  defeated  by  Jus- 
tinian II.,  173;  aid  Justinian, 
179  ;  defeat  the  Sara(  ens,  187  ; 
at  war  with  Constantine  V., 
196 ;  defeat  Constantine  VI., 
198  ;  slay  Nicephorus  L,  203  ; 
besiege  Constantinople,  204 ; 
routed  by  Leo  V.,  205  ;  defeat 
Leo  VI.,  216  ;  conquered  by 
the  Russians,  235  ;  conquered 
by  Basil  II.,  241-3  ;  revolt 
against  Isaac  II.,  276-7;  slay 
Baldwin  I.,  295  ;  conquests  of, 
308  ;  subdued  by  the  Turks,  330 
Burtzes  storms  Antioch,  231 
Byzantium,  founded,  I  ;  early 
history  of,  2-8  ;  under  the 
Romans,  9-12;  chosen  as  Con- 
stantine's  capital,  17  ;  see  after- 
wards imder  Constantinople 


Candia  taken  by  Nicephorus  Pho- 

cas,  228 
Cantacuzenus,    John,     usurpation 

of,  325-8 
Caracalla,  grants  privileges  to  By- 
zantium, 10 
Carthage,  taken  by  Belisarius,  85  ; 

taken  by  the  Saracens,  176 
Cassiodorus,  his  work  in  literary 

copying,  149 
Chalcedon,  founded,  3  ;  taken  by 

the  Persians,  134 
Champlitte,    William    of,    founds 

principality  of  Achaia,  296 
Charles    the   Great    crowned  em- 
peror, 199 
Cherson,    Justinian   II.    at,    177  ; 

sacked,  180 
Chosroes  I.,  king  of  Persia,  wars 

of,  with  Justinian,  72-4,  90-100 
Chosroes   11.,    wars    with   Phocas 

and  Heraclius,  129-135  ;  death 

of,  138 
Chosroantiocheia,    foundation    of, 

72 
Christianity,  influence  of,  on  the 
'     empire  and  society,  145-149 
Chrysostom,  see  tmder  John  Chry- 

sostom 


Cilicia,  conquered  by  Nicephorus 
Phocas,  230  ;  lost  to  the  Turks, 
236  ;  reconquered  by  the  Com- 
neni,  270 

Column,  of  the  Hippodrome,  25  ; 
of  Constantine,  25 

Commerce,  centralization  of,  at 
Constantinople,  224,  225  ;  de- 
cline of,  under  the  Comneni, 
267  ;  effects  of  Fourth  Crusade 
on,  310 

Comnena,  Anna,  writes  her  father's 
life,  264 

Comnenus,  see  under  Alexius, 
John,  Andronicus,  Manuel, 
David,  Isaac 

Conrad     of    Montferrat     defeats 

.    Branas,  277 

Constans  II.,  reign  of,  166;  wars 
of  with  the  Saracens,  167 ; 
murdered,  169 

Constantine  I.,  besieges  Byzan- 
tium, 12  ;  master  of  the  world, 
14  ;  seeks  a  capital,  16  ;  founds 
Constantinople,  18 

Constantine  III.,  defeated  by  the 
Saracens,  164  ;  short  reign  of, 
165 

Constantine  IV".  (Pogonatus),  wars 
of  with  the  Saracens,  170 ; 
defeats  Moawiah,  171  ;  holds 
the  Council  of  Constantinople, 
172 

Constantine  V.  (Copronymus), 
wars  of,  196;  persecutes  the 
Image-worshippers,  197 

Constantine  VI.,  reign  of,  198; 
blinded  by  his  mother,  198 

Constantine  VII.  (Porphyrogeni- 
tus),  reign  of,  216,  217  ;  literary 
v/orks  of,  220,  221 

Constantine  VIII.,  reign  of,  245 

Constantine  IX.  (Monomachus), 
reign  of,  247 

Constantine  X.  (Ducas),  reign  of, 
250,  251 

Constantine  XI.  (Paleologus),  ac- 
cession of,  343  ;  attacked  by  the 
Turks,  344  ;  last  hours  of,  347  ; 
death  of,  348 

Constantinople  founded   by   Con- 


356 


INDEX. 


stantine,  1 8  ;  topography  of, 
iq-29  ;  besieged  by  the  Goths, 
41  ;  street  fighting  in,  51;  be- 
sieged by  Avars  and  Persians, 
136,  137  ;  besieged  for  the  first 
time  by  the  Saracens,  170  ;  be- 
sieged for  the  second  time  by 
the  Saracens,  185, 186;  besieged 
by  Bulgarians,  205  ;  commercial 
importance  of,  224 ;  riots  in, 
247  ;  the  Crusaders  at,  264  ; 
taken  by  the  Franks  and  Vene- 
tians, 284  ;  stormed  and  sacked 
a  second  time,  287,  288  ;  devas- 
tation of,  by  the  Latins,  291  ; 
besieged  by  John  Ducas,  301  ; 
recovered  by  the  Greeks,  305  ; 
taken  by  John  Paleologus,  329  ; 
besieged  by  Murad  II.,  337 ; 
last  siege  of,  346  ;  taken  by  the 
Turks,  348 

Corippus,  poem  of,  144 

Council  of  Constantinople,  under 
Constantine    IV.,    172  ;    under 

,  Con^tantine  V.,  197 ;  under 
Leo  v.,  206 

Council  of  Florence,JohnVI. at, 341 

Courtenay,  house  of  at  Constanti- 
nople, 300,  301 

Crete,  conquered  by  the  Saracens, 
208  ;  recovered  by  Nicephorus 
Phocas,  228  ;  taken  by  the 
Venetians,  292 

Cross,  the  Holy,  captured  by  the 
Persians,  132  ;  recovered  by 
Ileraclius,  139  ;  removed  to 
Constantinople,  163 

Crumn,  king  of  Bulgaria,  defeats 
Nicephorus  I.,  203;  besieges 
Constantinople,  205 

Crusaders,  their  dealings  with 
Alexius  I.,  263,  264;  enter 
Syria,  265  ;  of  the  Fourth  Cru- 
sade, 279  ;  conquer  Constanti- 
nople, 288 

Ctesiphon,  Heraclius  at,  138 

Cyprus,  monks  banished  to,  197  ; 
recovered  by  Nicephorus  Pho- 
cas, 230  ;  seized  by  Isaac  Com- 
nenus,  277  ;  taken  by  Richard 
I.  of  England,  278 


Damascus,  taken  by  the  Persians, 
131  ;  taken  by  the  Saracens, 
163 

Dandolo,  Henry,  doge  of  Venice, 
280,  281  ;  at  the  storm  of  Con- 
stantinople, 284,  288 

Dara  taken  in  the  Persian  wars, 
136 

Dastagerd  taken  by  Heraclius, 
138 

David  Comnenus  defeated  by 
Theodore  I.,  299 

Delphic  tripod,  the,  24 ;  muti- 
lated by  Mahomet  II.,  349 

Delphic  oracle,  the,  orders  foun- 
dation of  Byzantium,  3 

Digenes  Akritas,  epic  of,  222 

Diocletian  makes  Nicomedia  his 
capital,  15 

Diogenes,  Romanus,  reign  of,  251  ; 
defeated  at  at  Manzikert,  254  ; 
slain,  256 

Ducas,  see  Jinder  Constantine  X., 
Michael  VIL,  John  III.,  Theo- 
dore II. 

Durazzo,  battle  of,  260 

Dushan,  Stephen,  king  of  Servia, 
conquests  of,  327 


Ecloga,  the,  Leo  III.'s  code  of 
laws,  194 

Eesa,  Sultan,  334-5 

Eg>^pt,  conquered  by  the  Persians, 
134;  conquered  by  the  Sara- 
cens, 164  ;  separated  from  the 
Caliphate,  227 

Eikasia,  story  of,  211 

Emesa,  taken  by  the  Saracens, 
163  ;  taken  by  Nicephorus  Pho- 
cas, 231 

Epirus,  the  despotateof,  298,  301, 
^  304,  327 

Eitogrul,  the  Turk,  322 

Eudocia  (Athenais),  wife  of  Theo- 
dosius  II.,  her  disgrace,  56 

Eudocia,  wife  of  Romanus  Dio- 
genes, 251 

Eudoxia,  .i^lia,  wifeof  Arcadius,52 


INDEX. 


357 


Eugenius  IV.,  pope,  treaty  of,  with 

John  VI.,  341 
Euphrosyne,  wife  of  Michael  the 

Amorian,  207 
Eutropius,    minister  of  Arcadius, 

47  ;  protected  by  Chrysostom, 

50       . 
Euphemius,  rebel  in  Sicily,  208 

Exarchate,     of    Ravenna,     119  ; 

conquered    by   the    Lombards, 

196 


Fatimite  dynasty  in  Egypt,  243 
Ferrara,  John  VI.  at  Council  of, 

341 

Flaccilla,  benevolence  of,  156 

Florence,  Council  of,  341 

Franks,  threaten  Italy,  89  ;  sum- 
moned by  Witiges,  91  ;  protect 
the  Papacy,  196 

Fritigern,  Gothic  ruler,  35-7  ;  vic- 
tory of  over  Valens,  40 

Fravitta  defeats  Gainas,  51 


Gainas,  minister  of  Arcadius,  47  ; 
rebellion  of,  50;  slain,  51 

Gallienus,  Byzantium  destroyed 
by,  10 

Gallipoli  seized  by  the  Turks,  329 

Ganzaca  burnt  by  Heraclius,   136 

Gelimer,  king  of  the  Vandals,  81  ; 
defeated  and  captured,  85 

Genoa,  rise  of,  263 ;  trade  of, 
with  the  East,  267  ;  allied  to 
Michael  Paleologus,  314  ;  sends 
aid  to  Constantine  XI. ,  344 

George  the  Alan,  318 

George  of  Pisidia,  poems  of,  221 

Giustiniani,  John,  defends  Con- 
stantinople, 344-8 

Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  264 

Goths,  early  history  of,  32  ;  cross 
the  Danube,  37 ;  defeat  Valens, 
39  ;  besiege  Constantinople,  41 ; 
submit  to  Theodosius,  42  ;  the 
Visigoths  under  Alaric,  48  ;  quit 
the  East,  49  ;  the  Ostrogoths 
under  Theodoric  at  war  with 
Zeno,    62 ;    invade    Italy,    64  ; 


kingdom  of,  attacked  by  Beli- 
sarius,  86  ;  wars  of,  with  Jus- 
tinian, 88-94  >  defeated  and 
destroyed,  95 
"  Grand  Company,"  the,  hired  by 
Andronicus  11. ,  317;  ravage 
Thrace,   318  ;  conquer  Athens, 

319 

Greece,    invaded   by   the   Goths, 

48  ;  overrun  by  the  Slavs,  125  ; 

conquered    by   the    Crusaders, 

296,  297 
Greek   fire,  invented,    170 ;  used 

by  the  Byzantine  fleet,  220 
Gregory   the    Great,   Pope,    120, 

121 
Guiscard,   Robert,  wars  of,  with 

Alexius  I.,  259-61 

H 

Haroun-al-Raschid,  wars  of,  with 

Nicephorus  I.,  203 
Helena,  mother  of  Constantine  I., 

19 
Hellas,   theme    of,    168  ;    revolts 

against  Leo  III.,  193 
Henry     of    Flanders,    Emperor, 

295-6 
Henry   VI.  of  Swabia,  Emperor 

of  the  West,  278 
Heracleonas,   reign   and   fall    of, 

165-6 
Heraclius  the  Elder,  rebellion  of, 

130  . 

Heraclius  I.,  sails  against  Constan- 
tinople, 130;  slays  Phocas,  130; 
disasters  of  the  Persian  War, 
132 ;  his  Crusade,  133 ;  victorious 
campaign  of,  135-7 ;  his  triumph, 
139  ;  attacked  by  the  Saracens, 
160  ;  defeated,  163  ;  last  years 
of,  164 

Heraclius  Constantinus,  son  of 
Heraclius  I.,  short  reign  of, 
165 

Hierapolis  taken  by  Nicephorus 
Phocas,  231 

Hieromax,  battle  of  the,  162 

Hilderic,  Vandal  king,  deposed, 
81 

Hippodrome,  the  great,  22 


35^ 


INDEX. 


Histiaeus  holds  Byzantium,  5 
Honorius  slays  Stilicho,  49 
Hungary,  converted  to  Christianity, 
262;  invaded  by  Manuel  I.,  271  ; 
attacks  the  Ottoman  Turks,  342 
Huniades,  John,  342 
Huns,  under   Attila,    57  ;   ravage 
Syria,    71  ;    threaten  Constanti- 
nople, 104 ;  defeated  by   Beli- 
sarius,  105 

I 

Iconium,   Sultanate  of,  see  under 

Seljouks 
Iconoclasm,  the  movement,  188-9 ; 

vigorous    under     the     Isaurian 

emperors,   192-7;  in  the  ninth 

century,     203-10 ;     ended     by 

Michael  HI.,  212 
Iconodules,  202 
Images,    superstitions    connected 

with,    190 ;    removed    by   Leo 

HI.,  192  ;  use  of,  ceases  in  the 

East,  212 
Innocent    HI.,  sends  out  Fourth 

Crusade,  281 ;  wrath  of  with  the 

Crusaders,  290 
Irene,    the   empress,    regency   of, 

197  ;  deposed,  198  ;  blinds  her 

son  and  seizes  the  throne,  199 
Isaac    I.    (Comnenus),    his   short 

reign,  250 
Isaac  II.  (Angelus),  rebels,   273  ; 

his  reign,  276  ;  deposed  by  his 

brother,  278 ;  restored,  284 ;  dies, 

285 
Isaac  Comnenus,  of  Cyprus,  277-8 
Isauiians,    the,    enlisted    by    Leo 

and  Zeno,  61  ;  dynasty  of  the, 

192-9 
Isperich,  king  of  Bulgaria,  172 
Italy,    conquered    by    Belisarius, 

88-91  ;  partly  conciuered  by  the 

Lombards,  1 16  ;  Constans  II.  in, 

169  ;  central  parts  of,  lost,  196  ; 

southern  parts  of,  concjuered  by 

the  Normans,  258 

J 
Jacobites,  in  Egypt  and  Syria,  161 
Janissaries,  the,  324 


Jerusalem,  Eudocia  at,  57  ;  taken 
by  Persians,  132;  Heraclius  at, 
139 ;  taken  by  the  Saracens,  163 ; 
taken  by  the  Crusaders,  265 

John  I.  (Zimisces),  murders  his 
uncle,  232  ;  successful  wars  of, 
234-7  ;  dies,  239 

John  II.  (Comnenus),  reign  and 
conquests  of,  268-9 

John  HI.  (Ducas  Vatatzes),  300; 
conquers  Thrace  and  Macedonia, 
301 

John  IV.  (Ducas),  dethroned  by 
Michael  Paleologus,  304 

John  V.  (Paleologus),  minority  of, 
325-8 ;  expels  John  Cantacu- 
zenus,  329  ;  defeated  by  the 
Turks,  330  ;  later  years  of,  333 

John  VI.  (Paleologus),  reign  (if, 
339  ;  embraces  Catholicism,  341 

John  (Angelus),  Emperor  of  Thes- 
salonica,  300 

John,  King  of  Bulgaria,  276  ;  con- 
quers Baldwin  I.,  295 

John  the  Cappadocian,  finance 
minister,  76 

John  Chrysostom,  patriarch,  52 ; 
exiled,  53 

John  Ducas,  regent,  255 

John  the  Faster,  patriarch,  120 

John  the  Grammarian,  patriarch, 
209,  212 

John  Huniades,  general,  342 

John  Lydus,  author,  143 

Julian,  reign  of,  32 

Justin  I.,  reign  of,  65 

Justin  II.,  reign  and  wars  of,  117 

Justinian  L,  character  of,  65  ; 
marries  Theodora,  66  ;  first  Per- 
sian war  of,  71-4;  Italian  and 
African  wars  of,  83-93  '■>  recalls 
Belisarius,  91  ;  his  buildings, 
106-9  ;  his  legal  work,  112 

Justinian  II.,  misfortunes  of,  172; 
banished,  175  ;  reconquers  his 
throne,  179  ;  slain,  180 

K 

Kadesia,  battle  of,  164 
Kaikhosru,  Sultan,  slain  in  battle, 
299 


INDEX, 


359 


Karasi,  Emirs  of,  319 

Karl  the  Great,  crowned  emperor, 

201 
Kathisma,  the,  24 
Khaled,  victories  of,  162 
Khazars,  allied  to  Heraclius,  137; 

shelter  Justinian  II.,  178 
Kief,  Russian  capital,  234 
Kobad,  wars  of,  with  Justinian,  71 


Ladislas,  king  of  Bulgaria,  243 
Ladislas,    king    of    Poland    and 

Hungary,  342 
Larissa,  battle  of,  261 
Lascaris,  see  tinder  Theodore  I. 
Latin  language,  used  in  the  Balkan 

Peninsula,   124;   decay  of  the, 

144 
Law,  Roman,  codified  by  Justinian, 

112  ;  changes  of  Leo  III.,  194 ; 

of  Basil  I.,  214 
Lazarus  the  painter,  224 
Lecky,  Mr.,  views  of,   discussed, 

Lazica,  wars  of  Justinian  and 
Chosroes  about,  100 

Leo  I.,  reign  of,  60 

Leo  III.,  the  Isaurian,  seizes  the 
crown,  182  ;  defends  Constanti- 
nople, 184  ;  religious  reforms  of, 
192  ;  political  reforms  of,  194 

Leo  IV.,  short  reign  of,  197 

Leo  V,  (the  Armenian)  seizes 
the  throne,  204 ;  defeats  the 
Bulgarians,  205  ;  murdered,  206 

Leo  VI.  (the  Wise),  reign  of,  216; 
literary  works  of,  218 

Leo  the  Deacon,  237 

Leontius,  usurpation  and  fall  of, 
175-7  ;  slain,  179 

Liberius  conquers  South  Spain, 
96-7 

Licinius,  wars  of  with  Maximinus 
Daza,  II  ;  dethroned  by  Con- 
stantine  I.,  12 

Literature,  221-2 

Lombards,  the,  leave  Pannonia, 
115  ;  conquer  North  Italy,  117  ; 
defeated  by  Constans  II.,  169; 
subdue  the  Exarchate,  196 


Louis  IX. ,  of  France,  gives  money 

to  Baldwin  II.,  305 
Lupicinus,  governor  of  Moesia,  37 
Lydus,  John,  author,  143 

M 

Macedonia,    overrun     by     Slavs, 

125  ;  in   hands  of  Boniface   of 

Montferrat,  292  ;  conquered  by 

Stephen  Dushan,  327 

Maeander,  battle  of  the,  299 

Mahomet,    the   prophet,    rise    of, 

159 

Mahomet  I.,  Sultan,  reunites  the 
Ottoman  Empire,  336 

Mahomet  II.  conquers  Constanti- 
nople, 343-50 

Maniakes,  wars  of,  246 

Manuel  I.  (Comnenus),  reign  and 
wars  of,  271-2 

Manuel  II.  (Paleologus),  reign 
and  misfortunes  of,  336-9 

Manzikert,  battle  of,  254 

Marcianus,  reign  of,  59 

Martina,  niece  and  wife  of  Hera- 
clius, 165  ;  exiled,  166 

Martyropolis,  121 

Maurice,  reign  of,  120;  Persian 
wars,  121  ;  fall  and  death  of, 
127 

Maximinus  Daza  takes  Byzantium, 
II 

Melek-Adel,  Sultan  of  Egypt, 
279 

Mesembria,  taken  by  Bulgarians, 
204  ;  battle  of,  205 

Mesopotamia,  conquered  by  He- 
raclius, 136;  invaded  by  John 
Zimisces,  239 

Michael  I.  (Rhangabe),  short 
reign  of,  204 

Michael  II.  (the  Amorian),  con- 
spiracy of,  2c6  ;  ecclesiastical 
policy  of,  207  ;  w  ars  of,  208 

Michael  III,  (the  Drunkard), 
minority  of,  212  ;  excesses  and 
murder  of,  213 

Michael  IV.  (the  Paphlagonian), 
reign  and  wars  of,  246 

Michael  V.,  ephemeral  power  of, 
247 


360 


INDEX. 


Michael  VI.  (Stratioticus),  short 
reign  of,  248-9 

Michael  VII.  (Ducas),  minority 
of,  251  ;  disastrous  reign  of,  256 

Michael  VIII.  (Paleologus),  usur- 
pation of,  303-4 ;  overthrows  the 
Latin  Empire,  305  ;  disbands  the 
Asiatic   militia,   313  ;  wars   of, 

304,  314 

Michael  IX.,  son  and  colleague 
of  Andronicus  II.,  defeated  by 
the  "  Grand  Company,"  318 

Michael  Angelus,  despot  of  Epirus, 
300 

Moawiah,  Caliph,  attacks  Con- 
stantinople, 170;  his  armies  de- 
feated, 171 

Moesia,  invaded  by  the  Goths,  37 ; 
seized  by  the  Bulgarians,  171 

Monks,  characteristics  of  the  early, 
149;  favour  image  worship,  193; 
persecuted  by  Constantine  Co- 
pronymus,  197 

Monophysites,  75 

Moors,  Gelimer  flies  to  the,  85 

Montferrat,  see  tinder  Boniface  and 
Conrad 

Morals,  effect  of  Christianity  on, 
145-7,  general  character  of 
Byzantine,  155-6 

Moslemah  besieges  Constanti- 
nople, 185-7 

Motassem,  the  Caliph,  sacks 
Amorium,  210 

Murad  I.,  conquers  Thrace,  329; 
suzerain  of  John  V.,  330;  con- 
quers the  Serbs,  332 

Murad  II.,  besieges  Constanti- 
nople, 337 ;  makes  peace  with 
Manuel  II.,  338  ;  wars  of,  342 

Murtzuphlus,  see  Alexius  V. 
(Ducas) 

Myriokephalon,  battle  of,  272 

N 

Naissus,  birthplace  of  Constantine 

I.,  16;  taken  by  the  Bulgarians, 

277 
Naples,  taken  by  Belisarius,  88  ; 

interference  of  the  Pope  with, 

120 


N  arses,     the     eunuch,     conquers 

Italy  from  the  Goths,  95 
Narses,  General,  burnt  alive  by 

Phocas,  129 
Navy,  the  Byzantine,  2ig-20 
Nicaea,  taken  by  the  Crusaders, 

264,  by  the  Ottomans,  323 
Nicephorus    I.   dethrones    Irene, 

199  ;  disastrous  wars  of,  203 
Nicephorus     II.,     Phocas,    takes 

Candia,    228  ;     emperor,   229  ; 

wars    of,    231  ;     murdered    by 

Zimisces,  232 
Nicholas  V.,  pope,   sends  aid  to 

Constantine  XL,  344 
Nicomedia,    taken    by    the    Otto- 
mans, 323 
Nineveh,  battle  of,  138 
Normans,  conquer  Byzantine  Italy, 

247  ;  invade  the  empire,  259  ; 

second  invasion  of  repelled,  267; 

third  invasion  of,  273 
Notaras,  John,  342 
Nuceria,  Goths  beaten  at,  95 


Obeydah,  Saracen  general,  162 
Obsequian  theme,  the,  168 
Odoacer,  conquered  by  Theodoric, 

63,64 
Omar,  the  Caliph,  visits  Jerusalem, 

163 

Omeyades,  dynasty  of  the,  170 

Orkhan,  Emir  of  the  Ottomans, 
reign  and  successes  of,  323-4  ; 
Pretender  to  the  Sultanate,  343 

Orosius,  history  of,  150 

Ostrogoths,  under  Theodoric  in 
Moesia,  62  ;  conquer  Italy,  64 ; 
weakness  of  the  kingdom  of,  82  ; 
attacked  by  Justinian,  88  ;  wars 
of  with  Belisarius  and  Narses, 
89-94  ;  crushed,  95 

Othman,  Emir  of  the  Turks,  con- 
quests of,  321-23 


Palace,    imperial,    at    Constanti- 
nople, 19 


INDEX, 


361 


Paleologus,  house  of,  see  under 
Michael  VI.,  Andronicus  11. 
and  III.,  John  V.  and  VI., 
Constantine  XI. 

Palermo,  taken  by  Belisarius,  88 

Palestine,  conquered  by  the  Per- 
sians, 132  ;  overrun  by  the 
Arabs,  163  ;  subdued  by  the 
Crusaders,  265 

Pandects,  compiled  by  Justinian, 
112 

Patriarchal  palace  of  Constanti- 
nople, 21 

Patriarchs,  see  under  John,  Ser- 
gius,  &c. 

Paulicians,  sect  of  the  persecuted 
by  Basil  I.,  214 

Paulinus,  put  to  death  by  Theo- 
dosius  II.,  57 

Patzinak  Tartars,  the,  237  ;  wars 
of  with  Alexius  I. ,  262 

Pavia,  taken  by  the  Lombards,  116 

Persian  Empire  destroyed  by  the 
Arabs,  164 

Persian  Wars  under  Julian,  32  ; 
under  Justinian,  71,  99;  under 
Maurice,  121  ;  under  Phocas 
and  Heraclius,  130-36 

Peter,  general  under  Nicephorus 
Phocas,  231 

Philip  of  Macedon,  attacks  Byzan- 
tium, 7 

Philip  of  Swabia,  helps  Alexius 
Angelus  the  younger,  279-8 

Philippicus,  usurpation  and  fall  of, 
1 80- 1 

Phocas,  emperor,  his  usurpation, 
127  ;  cruelty  of,  129  ;  slain,  130 

Phocas,  Bardas,  rebels  against 
John  Zimisces,  233  ;  against 
Basil  II.,  241 

Phocas,  Nicephorus,  reign  of,  228- 
30;    wars  of,   231;    murdered, 

Photius,    patriarch,  his    learning, 

221 
Plague,  the  great  of  a.d.  542,  loi 
Popes,  rise  of  the  power  of,  120  ; 

estranged  from  the  empire,  196  ; 

call  in  the  Franks,  199 
Priscus,  general  of  Maurice,  126 


Pr«sa,  taken  by  the  Turks.  323  ; 

sacked  by  the  Mongols,  334 
Pulcheria,     Empress,     with     her 

brother    Theodosius    II.,    55  ; 

marries  Marcianus,  59 
Pelekanon,  battle  of,  323 
Polyeuctus,  patriarch,  230 

R 

Ravenna,  taken  by  Belisarius,  91  ; 
exarchate  of,  119;  occupied  by 
the  Lombards,  196 

Rhangabe,  Michael,  short  reign 
of,  204 

Rhazates,  general,  slain  by  Hera- 
clius, 137 

Richard  Coeur  de  Leon,  conquers 
Cyprus,  278 

Robert  Guiscard,  wars  of  with 
Alexius  I.,  259-60  ;  final  re- 
pulse of,  261 

Roger  de  Flor,  hired  by  Androni- 
cus II.,  317  ;  conquests  of,  318; 
assassinated,  318 

Romanus  I.  (Lecapenus),  long  re- 
gency of,  217 

Romanus  II., short  reign  of,  228-9 

Romanus  III.  (Argyrus),  married 
to  Zoe,  245  ;  dies,  246 

Romanus  IV.  (Diogenes),  reign  of, 
251;  defeated  by  Turks,  254; 
dies,  256 

Rome,  taken  by  Belisarius,  89 ; 
besieged  by  the  Goths,  90 ; 
taken  by  Baduila,  94  ;  Gregory 
the  Great  at,  120  ;  Constans  II. 
at,  169 ;  Charles  the  Great  at, 
199 

Ruric,  founds  the  Russian  king- 
dom, 234 

Russians,  early  invasions  of,  216  ; 
attack  Bulgaria,  234  ;  defeated 
by  John  Zimisces,  237 ;  con- 
verted to  Christianity,  239 


Sabatius,  father  of  Justinian,  65 
Samuel,    king   of  Bulgaria,   241  ; 

wars  and  death  of,  242 
Saoudji,  rebels  against  Murad  L, 

333 


362 


INDEX. 


Sapor,  king  of  Persia,  32 

Saracens,  the,  converted  by  Ma- 
homet, 159  ;  invade  Syria, 
160-2  ;  conquer  Egypt,  166  ; 
conquer  Persia,  164  ;  civil  wars 
of  the,  166 ;  for  later  history, 
see  under  names  of  the  Caliphs 

Sardis,  taken  by  Alexius  I.,  265 

Scholarian  Guards,  the,  104 

Seljouk  Turks,  conquer  Persia  and 
Armenia,  2^0-1  ;  invade  the  em 
pire,  252  ;  conquer  Asia  Minor 
254  ;  defeated  by  the  Crusaders 
265  ;  wars  of  with  the  Com 
neni,  265-7-72  ;  with  Theo 
dore  I.,  298 

Sergius,  patriarch,  133 

Senate  House  at  Constantinople, 
21 

Servians,  cross  the  Danube,  123  ; 
conquered  by  Basil  II.,  243  ; 
rebel  against  Michael  IV.,  246  ; 
conquered  by  Manuel  I.,  271  ; 
overrun  Macedonia,  327  ;  sub- 
dued by  the  Turks,  330 

Severus,  emperor,  takes  Byzan- 
tium, 9 

Shahrbarz,  the  Persian,  takes 
Jerusalem,  132  ;  defeated  by 
HeraclLus,  135 

Sicily,  conquered  by  Belisarius, 
88  ;  invaded  by  Saracens,  208  ; 
finally  conquered  by  Saracens, 
214;  invaded  by  Maniakes,  246 

Siroes,  deposes  his  father  Chos- 
roes,  138 

Skleros,  Bardas,  rebel  against  Basil 
IJ.,  241 

Slavery,  influence  of  Christianity 
on, 147-8 

Slavs,  invade  the  Balkan  Penin- 
sula, 123  ;  subject  to  the  Avars, 
124-37  ;  ravages  of  the,  125, 
129 ;  made  tributary  by  Con- 
stans  II.,  169  ;  besiege  Thessa- 
lonica,  171 

Sophia,  St.,  first  building  of,  27  ; 
burnt  in  410  A.D.,  53  ;  burnt  in 
the  Nika  riots,  77  ;  rebuilding 
of  by  Justinian,  107-9  5  dese- 
crated by  the  Turks,  349 


Spain,  South  of,  conquered  by  Jus 
tinian's  generals,  96-7 

Stauracius,  emperor,  short  reign 
of,  204 

Statues  at  Constantinople,  21,  25  ; 
destruction  of  by  the  Crusaders, 
291 

Suleiman,  Saracen  vizier,  besieges 
Constantinople,  185  ;  dies,  186; 
Turkish  Sultan,  reign  of,  334-6 

Stephen  Lecapenus,  usurpation  of, 
217 

Stephen  Dushan,  king  of  Servia, 
conquests  of,  327 

Stephen,  pope,  calls  in  the  Franks, 
196 

Stilicho,  wars  of  with  Alaric,47-8; 
murdered  by  Honorius,  49 

Swiatoslaf,  king  of  Russia,  con- 
quers Bulgaria,  235  ;  defeated 
by  Zimisces,  237 

Syria,  invaded  by  the  Huns,  71  ; 
invaded  by  Kobad,  73  ;  con- 
quered by  Shahrbarz,  129-30  ; 
invaded  and  conquered  by  the 
Saracens,  162-3  I  conquests  of 
Nicephorus  Phocas  in,  229 ; 
subdued  by  tlie  Crusaders,  265 

Sophronius,  patriarch  of  Jerusa- 
lem, 163 

T 

Tagina,  battle  of,  95 

Tarsus,  taken  by  Nicephorus  Pho- 
cas, 230 

Tela,  Gothic  king,  slain  in  battle, 

95 

Telemachus,  martyrdom  of,  145 

Terbel,  king  of  Bulgaria,  aids  Jus- 
tinian II.,  178 

Themes,  institution  of  the  pro- 
vincial system  of,  167-8 

Theodahat,  Gothic  king,  murders 
his  wife,  82  ;  war  of  willi  Jus- 
tinian, 87  ;  slain,  88 

Theodora,  wife  of  Justinian,  career 
of,  66-8  ;  in  the  lYika  riots,  79  ; 
death  of,  103 

Theodora,  wife  of  Theophilus,  21 1 ; 
regency  of,  212 

Theodor.-i,  daughter  of  Constantine 
VIII.,  reign  of,  248 


INDEX. 


363 


ThecxJora,  daughter  of  Canta- 
cuzenus,  married  to  Orkhan, 
328 

Theodore  I.  (Lascaris),  at  the 
siege  of  Constantinople,  289  ; 
made  emperor  at  Nicaea,  298  ; 
wars  of,  299 

Theodore  II.  (Ducas),  short  reign 
of,  303 

Theodore,  Studita,  221 

Theodoric,  son  of  Triarius,  wars 
of  with  Zeno,  62-3 

Theodoric,  son  of  Theodemir,  re- 
bels against  Zeno,  62  ;  conquers 
Italy,  64  ;  dies,  81 

Theodotus,minister  of  Justinian  II., 

Theodosius  I.,  wars  of,  with  the 
Goths,  42  ;  dies,  44 

Theodosius  II.,  reign  of,  S4"~6  5 
war  with  Attila,  57 

Theodosius  III.,  usurpation  of, 
181  ;  abdicates,  183 

Theophano,  empress,  229 ;  murders 
her  husband,  233 

Theophilus,  emperor,  reign  and 
wars  of,  208-11  ;  his  love  of 
art,  224-5 

Theophilus,  patriarch  of  Alex- 
andria, 52 

Thessalonica,  besieged  by  the 
Slavs,  171  ;  stormed  by  the 
Saracens,  216  ;  Crusading  king- 
dom of,  292 ;  retaken  by  the 
Greeks,  296  ;  taken  by  the 
Turks,  330  ;  recovered,  336 ; 
finally  lost,  341 

Theuderic,  Frankish  king,  attacks 
Witiges,  89 

Thomas,  rebel  in  Asia,  208 

Tiberius  11. ,  Constantinus,  short 
reign  of,  114  ;  wars  of,  117 

'^iberius  III.,  Apsimarus,  re- 
bellion of,  177;  deposed  and 
slain,  179 

Tiberius,  son  of  Justinian  II., 
slain,  180 

Togrul  Beg,  Turkish  chief,  con- 
quers Bagdad,  251 

Totila,  see  taider  Baduila 

Trebizond,  empire  of,  founded,  298 


Tribonian,  minister  of  Justinian  I., 
112 

Tricameron,  battle  of,  85 

Turks,  see  tinder  Seljouks,  and 
names  of  Ottoman  Sultans 

Tuscany,  conquered  by  the  Lom- 
bards, 116 

Tyana,  sacked  by  Saracens,  182 

U 

Uldes,  king  of  the  Huns,  51 
Urosh,  king  of  Servia,  327 
Uscup,  capital  of  Stephen  Dushan, 
327 

V 

Valens,  reign  of,  36 ;  slain  in 
battle  by  the  Goths,  41 

Vandals,  kingdom  of  the,  in 
Africa,  82  ;  conquered  by  Be- 
lisarius,  85 

Varangian  guards,  239  ;  at  Du- 
razzo,  260 ;  at  siege  of  Con- 
stantinople, 282,  288 

Verona,  Baduila  at,  92 

Venice,  rise  of,  225  ;  commercial 
treaties  of,  with  Alexius  I. ,  268 ; 
wars  with  Manuel  I.,  271 ;  aids 
the  Fourth  Crusade,  279 ;  en- 
gages in  war  with  Alexius  III., 
282 ;  share  of  in  plunder  of 
Constantinople,  292  ;  at  war 
with  Michael  VIII.,  314 

Vigilius,  pope,  persecuted  by  Jus- 
tinian, 103 

Vikings,  the,  in  Russia,  234 

Visigoths,  the,  invade  Moesia,  35 ; 
slay  Valens,  41  ;  under  Alaric, 
48  ;  migrate  to  Italy,  49 

Vitalian,  rebellion  of,  61 

W 

Welid,  caliph,  wars  of,  with  the 
empire,  182 

Witiges,  Gothic  king,  88;  be- 
sieges Rome,  90 ;  submits  to 
Belisarius,  91 


Yezid,    Saracen    prince,    wars  of 
with  the  empire,  170 


364 


INDEX. 


Zachariah,  patriarch  of  Jerusalem, 

132 
Zapetra,  taken  by  Theophilus,  210 
Zara,  taken  by  the  Crusaders,  280 
Zeno,    emperor,    reorganizes    the 

army,   61  ;    wars    of    with   the 

Goths,  62  ;  sends  Theodoric  to 

Italy,  64 


Zeuxippus,  baths  of,  19 
Zimisces,    John,    murders    Nice- 

phorus   I.,    233;    Russian   war 

of,    235-7  ;    Asiatic    conquests 

of,  239 
Zoe,  empress,  her  marriages  and 

reign,  245-7 


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